


Blind Date

by Triskel_Samulet



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Blind Date, Dark Stiles Stilinski, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Hurt Stiles Stilinski, Hurt/Comfort, Jackson Whittemore is a Hale, Kanima Jackson Whittemore, Kidnapping, M/M, Master Stiles Stilinski, Mates, Mating Bond, Mind Break, Murder Husbands, Post-Canon, Post-Nogitsune Stiles Stilinski, Protective Jackson Whittemore, Torture, Werewolf Hunters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:21:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 26,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27626713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Triskel_Samulet/pseuds/Triskel_Samulet
Summary: Stiles was excited when Lydia sets him up on a blind date. He was less excited when that blind date ended up being Jackson Whittemore and even less excited when they get kidnapped by hunters together.What are the hunters after and why does Jackson actually seem to care whenever the hunters hurt him?
Relationships: Stiles Stilinski/Jackson Whittemore
Comments: 81
Kudos: 278





	1. The Date

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I received requests for more Stackson and I managed to find some inspiration.
> 
> Please leave comments and kudos! I love hearing from you!

Jackson came sauntering into the pack meeting like he owned the place, despite it actually being Derek’s rebuilt house. Based on the way everyone scrunched up their noses, Stiles guessed Jackson had come back from yet another hook up. Stiles knew Jackson was an asshole, but he didn’t need to know how much of a man-whore he was.

The most interesting thing about Jackson’s hook ups since returning from London were that he would go for either men or women. More than once Stiles had seen Jackson at the Jungle grinding up on some random dude.

“Now that we are all here,” Derek started, glaring at Jackson, “We have some important matters to discuss. Argent just informed me that there will be some hunters coming through town. They are old friends of his and he doesn’t think they are looking for trouble, but I still want everyone to be on guard and to be on their best behavior.” He gave another look to Jackson.

“Hey!” Jackson exclaimed, “I actually have good control! I’m not like baby beta over there.” He nodded over to Liam who looked like he was trying to hold back his shift while glaring at Jackson. Point well made.

“Everyone here has their weak points,” Derek reasoned, “Whether it’s controlling the shift or just getting off on the wrong foot with everyone you meet.”

“Glad to see you recognize your own weakness.” Jackson smirked.

Derek rolled his eyes and left for the kitchen, clearly done with the conversation. It was strange for Stiles to bite back his remarks, but he had learned not to play into Jackson’s hand. Stiles may be the one with all the sarcastic remarks, but Jackson always knew how to hit where it hurts.

“Well, if that’s all, I’m going to split,” Jackson said with a wink, “I’ve got places to be and people to be with.”

“You’re disgusting, Jackson.” Okay, so maybe Stiles couldn’t hold everything back.

Jackson just gave him one more wink before sauntering off.

“Hey Jackson, wait up! I need a ride!” Danny called out, running after the hybrid.

Once they were gone and Derek came back with snacks, Lydia snuggled up next to Stiles’ side.

“I have a proposition for you.” She said.

Stiles laughed, “We tried that once already, Lyds, it didn’t really work out.”

“I wasn’t talking about me,” She leveled him with a look that gave him no room for discussion, “I know a guy I think you’d be perfect with. You are going to meet him at this restaurant on Friday at seven.” She handed him a piece of paper with the name of the new Italian place in town.

“Why aren’t you saying the name of this place out loud?” Stiles asked.

“With this lot, they would probably try and spy on the date and end up ruining it.” She wasn’t wrong. More than once a date had been ruined by a member of the pack suddenly showing up and scaring the date away with how close they were.

“Good call.” Stiles couldn’t help but smile. It had been a while since he had been on a date.

Friday came and Lydia had helped Stiles find his best outfit. Apparently his normal baggy plaid wouldn’t do and neither would his skin tight club clothes. She ended up cursing out his closet and taking him shopping. He wasn’t about to complain since she paid for the clothes.

He ended up in a pair of nice fitting grey slacks and a red, button down shirt. Lydia quickly gave up on his hair, deeming it an unruly mess, but Stiles liked his unruly mess, so that was fine. It would give his date a little more of an accurate picture of what he was getting into than the clothes suggested.

Before he left, Lydia said, “No matter what, give this date a chance. You don’t have to get dessert if you don’t want to, but don’t run out before dinner.”

That made Stiles a little scared. Who could his date be? They were meeting at the restaurant, so there was no address to give him any clues, and the reservation was under Lydia’s name, so there were no clues there either.

Was she setting him up with someone he already knew? Was it someone he hated, like Theo? Sure the two of them had chemistry in a hate-fuck kind of way, but there was never going to be anything between them. If it was Theo he would run right out of that restaurant, promise be damned.

What if it was Derek? That would be weird since he was the alpha/pack dad. They had a good friendship, but he wouldn’t want to ruin it by going on a failed date.

Maybe it was Danny. He wouldn’t really mind going on a date with Danny. He hadn’t thought about it much since high school, but he and Danny had some good chemistry and Danny was hot.

With his fingers crossed for Danny, Stiles walked into the restaurant. He didn’t see anyone he recognized, so he walked up to the hostess’ stand.

“Hello, reservation for Lydia Martin?” He asked.

“Yes, right this way,” The hostess said as she led him to his table, “You are the first in your party to arrive.”

Stiles sat at his table anxiously looking over the menu and then glancing up at the door. All he knew about his date was that he was male. Lydia would not budge on any other details other than she thought he and Stiles would be compatible together.

Stiles peeked over his menu at the door and his heart dropped. Jackson-Fucking-Whittemore had just entered the resturaunt and was talking to the hostess. And now she was leading him to… fuck, his table. Why on earth would Lydia think he and Jackson were compatible?

Jackson sat down across from him without saying a word and picked up his menu.

“So I guess Lydia made you promise to make it through dinner too?” Stiles asked.

Jackson glared at him from over the menu, “Both Lydia and Danny threatened me with bodily harm if I didn’t. I couldn’t imagine why that was necessary. Now I know.”

Stiles rolled his eyes, “Well then, I guess the no talking method will be for the best.”

Jackson snorted, “Yeah, like that’s possible for you. Even when you try not to talk you always have to get the last word in.”

“I do not!”

“See?” Stiles was so mad that he just made Jackson’s point for him.

Stiles chose to just glare at Jackson even though it went against every fiber of his being. They managed to keep the silence until their waiter showed up. They ordered a bottle of wine (they were going to need it).

“I’ll have the spaghetti agio e olio.” Stiles ordered and Jackson snorted.

“You’re going to have that much garlic on a date?”

“Well, it’s not like this date is going anywhere.” Stiles sniped back.

“I’ll have the filetto di manzo, medium well.” Jackson ordered. Stiles scoffed as their waiter left.

“You got a problem, Stilinski?” Jackson asked.

“Yeah I got a problem. How long do you think it’s going to take to cook your medium well steak? You just added time to our mandatory date!” Stiles was not at all happy with the way things were going, “Besides, I thought your wolf side would like things bloody.”

Jackson glared at him again and the silence restarted. Stiles was just happy he had managed to get the last word with that one… damn he was mad that Jackson was so right about him.

The wine and a basket of bread arrived at their table and with it the bickering resumed.

“Why do you think Lydia even thinks we’re compatible, anyway?” Stiles asked.

“Maybe she thinks I’ll be able to finally shut you up?”

“That can’t be it. Lydia loves my ramblings. Almost as much as she loved other things about me,” Stiles said with a smirk, “Things she said I did better than anyone she had ever been with.”

Jackson clenched his jaw and Stiles knew he won.

“Well, you are too much of an asshole to be my type.” Jackson bit out.

“I was under the impression that you were the asshole here,” Stiles retorted, “But you’ve seen more than I have, so I guess you’d know.”

“Are you calling me a slut?” Jackson asked.

“Wow, perceptive, too. Didn’t think you had that in you.”

“Well at least I’m attractive enough to get some,” Jackson spat, “You look like a baby lumberjack on a good day.”

“Aw! I knew you thought I was adorable.” Stiles smirked.

“Adorable?” Jackson both looked and sounded affronted, “What on earth is adorable about a baby lumberjack? If anything they are a hazard to themselves and everyone around them. It would be better if they just left things to the professionals.”

With that last comment, Stiles saw red. It was one thing to insult his appearance or his personality, but to say he was a hazard to the pack? That was crossing a line. Jackson always, without fail, pushed the worst button possible.

“Go fuck yourself.” With that, Stiles got up and left the restaurant. He didn’t care about Lydia’s threats at that point. He would rather deal with her than get insulted for an entire night. He’d rather deal with anything else than Jackson-Fucking-Whittemore.

Or that was what he thought until he actually left the restaurant. In the parking lot there was a black van with severely tinted windows just idling. Stiles remembered what Derek said about hunters being in town and his spidey senses were tingling.

He knew they had no reason to go up against the pack since they had done nothing against the humans in town. But then he remembered Chris telling him about some hunters who hunt rare supernatural beings as trophies.

“Jackson.” Stiles whispered as he turned to move back inside and warn his packmate.

When he turned around he could feel hands grabbing him. He saw Jackson run out of the restaurant and get injected with something, probably some strain of wolfsbane. The next thing Stiles knew there was a rag over his nose and the scent of chloroform was overwhelming.


	2. The Hunters

When Stiles came to, he was in a windowless cement room with a large metal door. The smell of electricity was in the air and there was an unconscious Jackson next to him.

“Jackson!” Stiles gasped.

He moved towards the man and started looking over him for signs of wolfsbane poisoning. He didn’t have any means with which to burn it out of his system, he just had to hope that the kanima part of him was still wolfsbane resistant.

He couldn’t see any black lines and Jackson wasn’t vomiting black goo, so that was a good sign. And it was an injection, so there was no gunshot wound to worry about. He also seemed to still be breathing, so all in all Jackson should be okay.

That was when Stiles saw the cuffs on Jackson’s wrist. They were metal and looked really tight. He picked up one of Jackson’s arms to examine the cuffs, but when he touched it he got a shock of electricity. So that’s how they were keeping him down, a constant surge of electricity through him to neutralize him as a threat.

While they went through great lengths to take Jackson out of commission, Stiles couldn’t help but notice that he was unhindered. He had free reign of the space and nothing weakening him. With that thought, Stiles got up and started examining the room more closely to see if there was anything to help them get out.

Sadly, he couldn’t find anything. The room was a smooth cinder block, the only break in it was the door, but it was too solid for Stiles to do anything about. He had started trying to move it when he heard a groan from behind him. Stiles whipped around and was at Jackson’s side in an instant.

“Hey, hey, take it easy,” Stiles said as he helped Jackson sit up, “You have a lot of electricity coursing through you right now. You’re not able to do what you normally can.”

“That doesn’t mean I can’t sit, Stilinski.” Jackson grumbled.

Stiles couldn’t help but smile at that. The bickering was something normal and it was nice to have some normalcy to distract from the panic of being kidnapped again.

“What the hell happened to us?” Jackson asked.

“Hunters jumped us outside the restaurant,” Stiles explained, “My best guess is they’re after the rare kanima/werewolf hybrid. Probably to study you. My original thought was that you were some sort of trophy, but they would have killed you as soon as possible if that were the case.”

“Wow. You’ve got some good bedside manner.”

“If you want someone to hold your hand, go to Scott. I deal in research and facts. I’m not going to sugarcoat anything.” Stiles went back to examining the door, as if it would magically tell them how to get out.

After he had been staring at the door for what felt like forever, Jackson said, “Stiles get away from there!” Since Stiles didn’t know what was going on or what Jackson was hearing, he trusted the other man and moved behind Jackson. He could tell Jackson was trying to go into a partial shift, but the electricity was preventing him from doing so.

Then Stiles heard it, the door was being opened. Two hunters entered the room. They were both male and really buff. One was slightly taller than the other and he looked a little older, too. If Stiles had to guess he would say that was the man in charge.

“Cute, the pet is trying to protect his master.” The shorter man said.

“I have no master.” Jackson bit out.

“I don’t care.” The taller man said as he pulled out his phone and did something Stiles couldn’t see. All of a sudden Jackson was on the ground, writhing in pain. “Well, I hate to take you away from your boyfriend, but we have work to do.” He gestured to the shorter man.

The shorter man came into the room and stepped over Jackson to get to Stiles, which was completely unexpected. Why were they grabbing him and not the magical, mystical hybrid? The hunter grabbed Stiles’ arm tightly and pulled him out of the room, shutting the door behind them to lock Jackson in.

“I don’t know what you’re doing, but you’ve got this all wrong,” Stiles said, “I’m just an average human. I’m not valuable at all, or huntable. You’re wasting your time with me.”

Both hunters laughed, but made no comments on what Stiles had said. Instead, they dragged him into a dark room and tied him to a chair.

“We know this whole innocent human thing is just an act,” The tall hunter said as the shorter one was tying up Stiles, “You see, we know all about you. What you did to Argent’s daughter. You won’t get away that easily. We just need you to show your true colors to justify the kill.”

“What are you talking about?” Stiles yelled

“We’re talking about the nogitsune that took up residence in the head of one Stiles Stilinski.” The short hunter said.

And then it all clicked for Stiles. They were after a rare supernatural, like he suspected, but they were also after one that had caused so much pain and chaos in the town. He couldn’t really blame them for wanting to rid the world of the nogitsune, his pack wanted the same thing. The only problem was the void was gone and Stiles was back to being a normal human. He wasn’t a rare and dangerous supernatural anymore.

What he didn’t understand was Jackson, were they after both of them, or was Jackson collateral to get to Stiles? And wasn’t that a weird turn of events.

“The nogitsune is gone,” Stiles pleaded, “I’m just a normal, formerly possessed human.”

“Never trust a fox.” Stiles couldn’t tell which hunter said that because the next thing he knew there was electricity coursing through his body. He knew it was nowhere near as much as they were shocking Jackson with, but it still hurt like a bitch.

“I’m… I’m not a… fox.” Stiles managed to say after the electricity was gone.

“We know it’s you,” One of them said, “We saw the security footage. Your face is all over it, leaving death and chaos in your wake.”

“And yet the pack still loves you.” The other one commented.

“Because the nogitsune is gone,” Stiles panted, “They got it out of me.”

“Every bestiary I’ve ever seen says that’s not possible.” 

And just like that the electricity was back. Stiles didn’t know if his body could take it, it hurt so much.

“Now, is the little fox ready to play?” The tall hunter asked.

“If… the fox... was here…” Stiles tried, but it was so hard to speak, “You wouldn’t… want to play… his game.”

“Let’s try again.”

The next thing Stiles knew, he was waking up in the concrete room with Jackson hovering over him.

“About time you woke up,” Jackson griped, “I do not want to deal with McCall if you die on my watch.”

“Gee, thanks for the warm welcome,” Stiles rolled his eyes as he tried to sit up, “And what was with those comments about my bedside manner? Yours isn’t much better.”

“Whatever,” Jackson helped Stiles move into a sitting position, “What do they want, anyway?”

“They want me dead,” Jackson’s eyebrows furrowed at that answer, “More specifically, they want the nogitsune they think is still in me dead.”

“What the hell is a nogitsune?” Jackson asked. Stiles laughed, or tried to, he ached everywhere and it made it hard to do much.

“A nogitsune is a void kitsune. It possessed me about six months after you left. I killed about half the deputies and hospital staff. It wasn’t pretty.” Stiles explained.

“But you’re you now. Why do they still want to kill you?” Jackson asked.

“Because I also killed a hunter,” Stiles grimaced, “I killed Allison Argent.”


	3. Mantra

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While I initially intended this to have a fluffy ending, plot bunnies have gone elsewhere. I'm glad the tags didn't promise anything fluffy. I will be adding a few tags that relate to what this fic will become. This chapter would have been the same regardless of how the ending goes, but just to reiterate, torture has been tagged.
> 
> As always I welcome comments/kudos.

“What the hell, Stilinski?” Jackson asked, disbelievingly.

“It’s true. I killed Allison.” Stiles insisted.

“There is no way you would still be in the pack if that were true,” Jackson countered, “She was Scott’s first love and she took priority over you so many times. If you killed her Scott would have handed you over to the proper authorities and never looked back.”

“I can still remember the joy that went through me when she died.” Stiles tried again.

“No, it wasn’t you! It was that nogitsune thing. The day you stop seeing the difference is the day these hunters win.”

“Then they’ve already won!” Stiles cried, “I’ve never been able to tell the difference. I still wake up from nightmares and I have to call Lydia to make sure no one actually died. I constantly have to count my fingers to make sure I’m still awake. I don’t even know if it was me who lost my virginity to Malia or if the nogitsune did it for me.”

Jackson was looking at him strangely and his eyebrows were doing this weird thing that Stiles couldn’t interpret. It was weird how much Stiles could get from Jackson’s eyebrows, not as much as Derek's, but he wondered if there was some connection there. He tried focusing on Jackson’s mysterious birth parents to try and quell the panic attack that was building inside himself.

“Did you ever tell Malia?” It hurt that out of everything Stiles said, that was what Jackson held onto. But to be fair, it was the most embarrassing one and Jackson was an asshole.

Before Stiles could respond, Jackson stiffened and placed himself in a defensive position between Stiles and the door. As it opened, Jackson ended up on the floor again as electricity coursed through the cuffs. If they wanted to get out, those would need to come off.

“Time for another round.” The tall hunter said and the shorter one grabbed him.

“I just woke up! Why are you taking me again so soon?” Stiles questioned the hunters.

“You were out for an entire day,” The shorter man said, “What, did your pet not tell you?”

“He’s not my pet.” Stiles bit back. The two hunters just laughed and tied him to the same chair he was in last time.

Stiles waited for the electricity to start to flow, but it never came. The next thing he knew there was a cloth stretched taut over his face and there was water being poured on him. The water stopped and the cloth was removed. Stiles gasped for breath.

“Come on, fox! Show yourself!” The tall hunter demanded.

“There is no fox.” Stiles’ voice was hoarse from the waterboarding, but the hunters didn’t care and they did it again.

“Who killed all of those people?” The hunter demanded after he let Stiles up for air.

“The nogitsune.” Stiles answered.

“And who is the nogitsune’s host?”

“I was but we expelled it from my body.” They pulled his head back and repeated the torture.

Stiles had no clue how long this went on for. His perception of time was distorted since there were no windows and he hadn’t had a meal since before the date. Stiles laughed inwardly. If he had just stayed inside he would have at least eaten within the past twenty-four hours.

Eventually he passed out from lack of oxygen and woke up back in the concrete room.

“How long was I out?” Stiles asked Jackson, who was hovering over him again.

“I don’t know, it’s hard to tell time here, but it felt like a long time,” Jackson’s answer was surprisingly honest, “They brought food when they brought you back. I left it so we could eat together.”

Stiles looked over at the tray of bread and water, “Thanks, Jackson.” He split the loaf in half and gave Jackson his share, but Jackson just ripped his in half and gave some back to Stiles.

“You need it more than I do,” Jackson explained, “Also, we shouldn’t eat it all at once. Who knows the next time they’ll feed us.”

Stiles nodded, he knew Jackson was right, but his belly wanted to eat it all now. Jackson ate only a few bites of his portion and Stiles did the same. They also decided to ration the water. Man could live a lot longer without food than without water.

“You need a mantra.” Jackson stated out of the blue.

“Why do I need a mantra?”

“It’s something to keep you grounded whenever they take you,” Jackson explained, “So you don’t lose yourself to the memories of the nogitsune. Anytime they ask you a question, answer with the mantra.”

So Stiles spent the rest of his time in the cell brainstorming a mantra and before he knew it the hunters showed up again and took him away. They strapped him into a chair and Stiles waited for what today’s torture would be.

“Are you going to show us your true colors?” The tall hunter asked.

“I am Stiles Stilinski. I am the son of Noah and Claudia Stilinski. I am human, the nogitsune is gone.”

A slap was delivered to his face.

“You are the nogitsune!” The hunter insisted.

“I am Stiles Stilinski. I am the son of Noah and Claudia Stilinski. I am human, the nogitsune is gone.”

Another slap.

“I am Stiles Stilinski. I am the son of Noah and Claudia Stilinski. I am human, the nogitsune is gone.”

This time a knife went into his thigh. 

“I am Stiles Stilinski.”

A knife in the other thigh.

“I am the son of Noah and Claudia Stilinski.”

The knives were both twisted and then removed.

“I am human.”

A punch to the face. His nose was probably broken.

“The nogitsune is gone.”

A hammer to his left hand.

When they brought Stiles back this time, he was bloody, but still awake. Jackson wanted to run to him and get him out of the arms of the hunters, but he couldn’t move. As soon as the door was shut the electricity was gone and Jackson got up and grabbed Stiles before he could keel over.

Jackson yanked his shirt off and tore it into strips so he could dress the leg wounds with something. When he was done with that he turned his focus to Stiles' nose. He quickly set it and Stiles didn’t even flinch at the pain.

Jackson then looked at Stiles’ hand. There was no way he would be able to fix that. It was going to take a long time to heal and, in their current conditions, there was no way it would heal right.

“What did they do to you?” Jackson wondered.

“I am Stiles Stilinski. I am the son of Noah and Claudia Stilinski. I am human. The nogitsune is gone.”


	4. Void

After Stiles came back, all he did was rock back and forth and mutter his mantra. Jackson had never seen Stiles look so broken, not even the day he helped Lydia turn him from kanima to hybrid. Stiles was bloody and shaking and mentally gone.

Also since Stiles came back there had been no visits from the hunters. Jackson was glad they were letting Stiles recover from their last session, but this also meant they were going to run out of food soon. Their meager bread and water rations that they managed to save were almost gone, but it wasn’t like Stiles was eating much in his state anyway. Anytime Jackson held a piece of bread up to his lips, Stiles would just continue muttering and rocking as if it wasn’t there.

The room was also starting to smell, too. When the hunters dropped off the food they would usually hose down the cell, too, which took care of the corner that they had been using as a bathroom. But no visits meant the waste was festering. Jackson guessed the absence was meant to be another form of torture, but it was better than sitting there, doing nothing, while they were doing god knows what to Stiles. 

He knew the room they took him wasn’t far because each time they took Stiles, Jackson could hear the screams. He could put up with the smell and the lack of food if it meant he didn’t have to listen to Stiles’ pained, hollow screams.

Jackson looked at the cuffs on his wrist and tried to find the seam of the hinges. Somehow, it looked like a solid piece of metal, but it was so tight that he knew they had to come apart somehow. If Stiles was more lucid he would be able to figure it out.

Jackson stiffened, he didn’t think things could have gotten worse, but they just did. He had gotten used to Stiles muttering his mantra, but the other man just went completely silent and still; no more mutterings and no more rocking.

“Stiles?” Jackson asked, but he received no response.

He got up from his spot on the floor and moved directly in front of Stiles. He waved his hand in front of Stiles’ face, but again there was no response.

“Stiles?” Jackson asked again, desperation creeping into his voice, “I can’t do this alone.” But there was no response.

Jackson estimated they were on their own for about two more days after Stiles became catatonic. Then he heard people coming down the hallway and electricity coursed through his body again. The hunters came and took Stiles without a fight and Jackson was left alone to listen to it all.

Stiles went limply with the hunters into the torture room. They could see how out of it he was, so they didn’t even bother strapping him down. He just sat in the chair and stared with unseeing eyes.

“Looks like he finally went off the deep end.” The short hunter commented.

“Maybe with his human mind out of commission the nogitsune will finally show its true colors and we can finally get a move on with this hunt,” The older one replied, “Alright, fox, show yourself!”

The command got no response as Stiles stayed in his catatonic state. The hunters rolled their eyes.

“Either this thing really knows how to hide,” The short hunter commented, “Or the kid was telling the truth.”

The tall hunter grunted and went to the table off tools. He grabbed a small knife and walked back to Stiles.

“Show us you’re there, Fox.” The hunter said. When there was no response he made a small cut on Stiles’ cheek.

“Come out, Fox. We know you’re there.” The hunter tried again and made another cut.

It went on like this for over an hour. Stiles’ face and arms were covered in cuts, but he didn’t respond to any of them. Out of frustration, the hunter stabbed Stiles’ already gnarled with the knife and walked away.

The hunters were huddled together, quietly discussing what their next course of action should be when they heard laughter behind them. They turned around to see Stiles cackling and smiling.

“What the fuck?” One of the hunters asked.

Stiles kept laughing as he pulled the knife out of his hand and advanced on the hunters, brandishing the weapon they gave him. He swiped it at them a few times before they wised up and grabbed their guns.

Stiles was on them before they could even take a shot. He disarmed the first hunter and used that gun to shoot the other right in the heart. All those times his dad took him to the shooting range really paid off.

He then turned to the hunter he disarmed and shot him. He then went through their pockets and looked for their phones. Once he had them he used the dead men’s finger pints to unlock them and then disabled the locking feature. He also found a large ring of keys and hopefully one of them would open the room that Jackson was in.

He moved quickly, knowing it had been more than two hunters who had taken them, despite the fact that these were the only two they had seen during their stay.

“Jackson?” Stiles asked, “Can you bang on the door for me so I know where you are?”

He didn’t know if Jackson would be able to hear him through the cement walls, but he did end up hearing a banging sound and followed that to a large metal door that looked somewhat familiar. He then went through the key ring until he found one that he thought would match the door. It took a few tries, but finally the door was open.

“What the hell Stilinski?” Jackson asked, concern coloring his voice and face, “How the hell are you up and walking.”

“Talk later. Run now.” Stiles put the keys in this pocket and tucked the gun into his belt. Then he grabbed Jackson’s hand and ran in the direction he hoped was the exit.

Miraculously they didn’t run into any more hunters on their way out and they did end up finding the exit. It turned out they were in an abandoned warehouse in the warehouse district. Why a place as small as Beacon Hills had so many abandoned places Stiles didn’t know, but he knew they were closeish to Derek’s loft.

“Do you have anyone’s number memorized?” Stiles asked.

“Um, yeah. I know Lydia’s.” 

“Call her.” Stiles said as he shoved one of the stolen phones into Jackson’s hand and then he promptly passed out.

When Stiles woke up again it was to the sound of a steady beeping and a dark room that was lit by the glow of blue eyes.

“Jackson.” Stiles murmured in his still half asleep state. He felt the bed dip and there was a warm presence at his side and then he was asleep again.

The next time he woke up it was daytime. His dad was watching him from one chair and Jackson was asleep in the other. It was then that Stiles took stock of his injuries. His left hand was in a cast, but he could tell that he got to the hospital too late for it to heal properly. There were bandages all over his arms and he could feel some on his face as well. When he moved he could also feel some on his thighs. Those hunters really worked him over good.

Stiles’ eyes brushed over his father and landed on Jackson. While he looked a little skinnier than normal, the man was otherwise unharmed. The sight of Jackson safe made Stiles breathe a sigh of relief, and he never thought that would happen.

His dad chuckled, “Jackson hasn’t left your side since he brought you to the hospital. He wouldn’t even leave you alone while you were in surgery for that hand. Melissa had to vouch for him.”

Stiles nodded. It made sense that Jackson would act that way after seeing a pack member hurt like Stiles was.

“Anytime I asked him what happened he would just growl at me and snuggle closer to you.” His father continued.

“Hunters.” Stiles said and he left it at that. There was no need to worry his father about all the details. Stiles would take care of it.


	5. The Hospital

The pack came to visit him in the hospital. When they came in, Jackson was on the bed curled around Stiles. Lydia smirked when she saw the position the two of them were in, Scott looked confused, and the rest looked like they either ignored it or just figured it would happen at some point. 

Kira, on the other hand, was hovering in the doorway, looking a little sick. Everyone else was too focused on Stiles and Jackson, that they didn’t realize how uncomfortable Kira was.

“Are you okay?” Stiles asked. That question had everyone looking at the girl in the doorway.

“I don’t know what it is,” Kira replied, “I just don’t feel too good right now. If you don’t mind, I think I’m going to head out.”

“Do what you need to do.” And with that, Kira left.

Once she was gone, the pack started badgering Stiles and Jackson with questions, all talking over each other. The only ones not participating in the chaos were Derek and Lydia. Theo probably wouldn’t have participated either, but he didn’t even show up at the hospital.

He didn’t know why, but he found their clamoring and confusion quit energizing. He felt more awake and present than he had in days. Then the unthinkable happened.

“I’m so glad you’re okay, dude,” Scott said as he reached to put a hand on Stiles’ shoulder. Before he could reach his intended target, Scott was up against the wall on the opposite side of the room, being held there by a growling and shifted Jackson.

The pack stood there in shock, wondering why their packmate would attack their alpha unprovoked. In their shock, no one moved to separate the two. No one knew what would set Jackson off against them.

“Jackson,” Stiles said quietly, “Jackson come back to me. He didn’t hurt me.”

The shift slowly receded, but he didn’t relent on his position against Scott, “Don’t touch him.” Jackson bit out, giving Scott one last shove before rejoining Stiles on the bed.

He buried his face in Stiles neck, trying to reassure himself that Stiles was truly okay.

“I think it’s best if you all leave for now,” Stiles said, “I’d love to talk later, though.”

Derek ushered them out of the room, including a crestfallen Scott who really didn’t want to leave. Stiles laid there in silence for a good few minutes, waiting to make sure the pack was out of hearing range.

“Wanna talk about what just happened?” Stiles asked. Jackson shook his head in response, which felt kind of weird since it was still on Stiles’ neck, “Jackson, you attacked your alpha. We have to talk about this.”

“Ithoughthewasgonnahurtyou.” Jackson mumbled into Stiles’ neck.

“He was not going to hurt me!” Stiles laughed, “It’s Scott! I mean, yeah in high school there were some emotional scars he gave me any time he just abandoned me, and there was that one time when he couldn’t control his wolf and tried to kill me, but none of that was intentional… I think… Either way, Scott isn’t going to hurt me now. He’s my alpha, he’s your alpha.”

Jackson shifted his position so he was now looking at Stiles, “We were gone for a long time. Any time someone other than me got close to you, you got hurt. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you again.”

“Scott won’t hurt me,” Stiles insisted, “Besides, despite the chaos of their visit, I feel a lot better than I have in a long time.”

“I’m glad you’re back with me, Stilinski.” Jackson quietly confessed.

“I’m glad I’m back with you, too.”

It was then that Stiles realized how close their faces were, how close their lips were. His eyes flickered down to Jackson’s lips and then back to his eyes. They both slowly leaned in. The brush of their lips was tentative, as if neither of them was sure this is what the other wanted, but it slowly grew more bold. It was just on the edge of heated when Jackson pulled back.

“Why are you stopping?”

“You’re healing,” Jackson explained, “I don’t want to hurt you more.”

“But I feel better than I have in a while, Jacks!” Stiles tried pulling Jackson into another kiss, but the hybrid wouldn’t budge. He could tell Jackson really wanted to continue, but was fighting himself to stop, “Even as we’re sitting here talking about it I’m feeling better and better.”

“How about this,” Jackson offered, “When the bandages are gone, we can do more than just make out, but we have to wait until then.”

“Can I still have some light kisses?” Stiles asked.

Jackson looked like he was going to agree to that, but then shook his head, “You’d make them more than light kisses. Nothing until you’re better.”

“Spoil sport.” Stiles grumbled.

Jackson smiled and got out of the bed, “You get some rest. I’m going to head to the cafeteria and see if I can get us some decent food.”

Once he left Stiles was all alone in his room. He hadn’t been lying when he said he felt better. He got out of bed and found he was able to walk without his legs shaking. He moved over to the table where his personal belongings were and found the phones he stole from the hunters.

He opened them and looked around for whatever app they had been using to control Jackson’s cuffs. He found an app that he had never seen before. There was no name and the icon was just silver, the same silver that Jackson’s cuffs were.

He opened the app. The layout of it looked like a switchboard, but he had no clue what controlled what since nothing was labeled. He was tempted to mess around with it, but he didn’t want to hurt Jackson.

Said man walked back into the room with a tray of food, “I thought I told you to get some rest.”

“And I told you I’m not tired,” Stiles insisted, “I think I found the app that controls your cuffs.

Jackson’s eyes lit up, “You mean you can get them off of me?”

“Maybe,” Stiles was still unsure, “Nothing is labeled, so I’d have to play around. It might hurt you.”

“Do what you need to do to get them off,” Jackson’s face was so sincere, Stiles didn’t think he had ever seen that expression on Jackson’s face before, “I trust you.”

Jackson put the tray on the bedside table and pulled up a chair. Stiles put his focus back on the app and decided to turn one of the knobs he thought could potentially release the cuffs. Based on the way Jackson stiffened, that was the wrong knob.

They did this for about an hour, trying to find a way to get rid of the cuffs, but nothing was helping. Jackson just kept getting hurt. Finally, with one knob left to try, the cuffs came off.

“We are definitely destroying these.” Jackson commented as he tried to sooth his raw wrists. Stiles nodded his agreement.

“It’s time to change your bandages,” Mellisa said as she entered the room, “And depending on how everything looks you could be getting released soon!”

While most nurses would have tried to shoo Jackson away for this, Mellisa knew there was no getting rid of him at this point, so she set to work undoing the bandages. She started with the legs, since those injuries were the worst and probably in the most need of a bandage change and a cleaning. 

Mellisa let out a small, shocked noise when the bandage was gone. Stiles looked down and saw there was no wound. There was nothing, not even a scar. There was just fresh, clean skin.

“What the hell?” Stiles asked. He looked at Jackson who was just as confused as he was. Mellisa moved on to undo the bandage on the other leg, and that one had healed up nicely, too. She undid all of his bandages and there was nothing left. The only thing that remained damaged was his left hand.

“I guess I’ll get those discharge papers started before anyone starts asking questions.” With that, Mellisa left to start the cover up for whatever the hell was happening.

“How are you healed?” Jackson asked.

“I have no idea,” And that was the truth, “Maybe hanging around with supernaturals has finally rubbed off on me in a positive way?”

Jackson gave him a look that said, ‘we know that’s not how this works,’ but since he didn’t have a better explanation he didn’t contradict that.

Stiles didn’t care why he had healed, but he felt like he had been through so much shit since Scott got bit that he was owed a little bit of quick healing. By the end of the day, Jackson was helping Stiles into his porsche and driving him home.


	6. The Knife

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been longer than usual since my last update. It's been the holiday season, which distracted me. But I was also introduced to my first K-drama, Tales of the Nine Tailed Fox. I feel like all teen wolf fans would love this show. When I have it on I can't look away (and not just because I have to read the subtitles).
> 
> Anyway, enjoy this update. It's fluffier than I intended, but still plot-y. More angst is coming in the near future, though, so get ready!
> 
> As always I love hearing from you. Kudos/comments are more than welcome!

Stiles woke up in his own bed with a nice weight at his back. He looked over his shoulder to see a sleeping Jackson wrapped around him. He looked peaceful when he slept. There was no inkling of the facade he usually wore and the worry of the past month was nowhere in sight.

“Stop staring.” Jackson said without opening his eyes.

“But I like the view.” Stiles retorted.

Jackson just pulled Stiles closer and buried his face in the nape of his neck. It tickled a little and made Stiles laugh, which in turn made Jackson growl. Stiles maneuvered so they were face to face.

“Don’t growl at me, lizard boy,” Stiles said, which led to more growling, “You should be using your mouth for something much more pleasurable.” Stiles did some eyebrow wiggles to try and get his point across, but Jackson wasn’t having it.

“I said not until you’re healed.” Jackson insisted.

“And I am!” Stiles exclaimed, “That’s why I could leave the hospital. You saw my flawless skin! Now I want your mouth on me and my mouth on you!”

“Your hand-”

“Is probably just as healed as the rest of me,” Stiles interrupted, “We won’t know for sure until the cast is off and it has to stay on to avoid suspicion. But if the rest of me is miraculously healed, why not my hand, too?”

“We can wait the month until we know for sure,” Jackson tried to placate Stiles with a kiss to the forehead, “Besides, we’ve been at odds for so long it’d be nice to get to know each other again before jumping into bed.”

Stiles groaned, “I hate that you’re right. Not about me not being fit for making out and sex, because my body is totally ready for that. But, yeah, we probably should take this slow.”

Jackson rewarded him with a kiss on the cheek.

“I hate you, you tease.” Stiles grumbled as he hit Jackson’s head with a pillow.

“No you don’t.” Jackson smirked before getting up and getting ready for the day.

Derek thought it would be smart if some of them went back to the warehouse to make sure the hunters were gone and to see if they left anything behind that would give any clues to their plans. So that afternoon, Derek, Chris, Scott, Theo, Jackson, and Stiles pulled up to the warehouse.

“You two didn’t have to come.” Scott said, looking at Stiles like he was going to break.

“If I don’t face it it will haunt me, just like-” Stiles cut himself off, not wanting to bring back memories of his possession. Jackson held him closer and scented him in an effort to comfort his boyfriend.

Stiles had told Jackson he didn’t have to join them, but the hybrid wasn’t going to let Stiles out of his sight. After years of thinking he could rely on Scott and being left to his own devices, it was nice to know there was someone who would always be there.

They split into two teams; Chris, Theo, and Scott checked one half of the building while Derek, Stiles, and Jackson took the other half. Stiles knew they were hoping that Stiles and Jackson wouldn’t have to see the rooms they were tortured in, but luck was not on their side.

The first room the three of them came across was the room Stiles and Jackson had been held. After a quick peek inside they were ready to move on to what was next. All the rooms in the hallway were similar cells, but they looked unused. Finally they came to the door at the end of the hall which lead to the torture room.

There was a chair in the center of the room that was stained with dried blood as well as the surrounding floor. He was glad he didn’t have enhanced senses because with how bad it was with his human nose, he couldn’t imagine what Derek and Jackson were going through.

As Stiles stepped into the room, he felt his foot hit something. He bent down and found the knife that they had plunged into his hand right before his escape. The feeling of that knife in him was what brought his mind back to his body as well as the means and confidence to get out.

He picked up the knife and tried to wipe it off, but the combined blood of Stiles and the hunter were dried and stained on the blade. That was fine, though, it would serve even more as a symbol of his ability to endure.

“You aren’t keeping that, are you?” Derek asked.

“It got me out. It’s coming home with me.” Jackson gave him a supportive smile and the three of them left the room to meet up with the other group.

The only thing the other group found was some hastily done research on nogitsunes, but nothing on where the rest of the hunters left.

“Are you sure you friends didn’t tell you anything when they left?” Stiles asked, looking Chris right in the eye.

“They told me nothing and I wouldn’t exactly call them friends,” Chris responded, “I’ve told the pack everything I know and I don’t appreciate the implication to the contrary.”

“They were trying to avenge Allison,” Stiles confessed, “Only good friends would do that.”

With that, Stiles turned to their cars and got ready to leave, Jackson following close behind. Through the windshield, Stiles could see the shocked expressions of his packmates. He knew he should have confessed that earlier, but there had been so much going on!

“You okay?” Jackson asked after they were out of earshot from the others

Stiles let out a long sigh, “I think so, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to trust Chris again. There is more going on then we know.”

“I agree with you on that. Until we know the full extent of these hunter’s connection with the Argents, it would probably be best to keep a close eye on him.”

Stiles looked down at the knife sitting on the seat between himself and Jackson.

“I’m going to need a sheath.” Stiles commented.

“You’re going to carry it around with you?”

“It saved me once,” Stiles reasoned, “I feel like it’s a kind of good omen. And it’s not like I can always carry my bat. A knife would be easier to conceal.”

“Get the measurements and I’ll get one fore you.”

“You don’t have to do that, Jacks,” Stiles insisted, “I can repurpose an old gun holster.”

“Stiles, I know you’re smart and you’re good at making old things work,” He gave a cursory glance around the jeep, “But it won’t be hard for me to get you a sheath. Think of it as a monthiversary present.”

“Oh my god! It has been a month since the blind date!” Stiles exclaimed, “Wait, is that when we’re saying this relationship started? I don’t really want to give Lydia and Danny the satisfaction.”

“No matter how you look at it we wouldn’t be together without that blind date.” Jackson stated.

“Ugh, fine. But don’t tell Lydia that’s how we’re counting it.”

“Deal.” Jackson smirked while Stiles rolled his eyes. Why did he even like this guy, again?

Stiles spent the rest of the day cleaning up his new knife. He gave Jackson the measurements and the other man had been online, trying to find the best sheath for his boyfriend.

When the sheriff got home, he paused at the sight of the knife, opened his mouth like he was going to ask about it, but then just shook his head and left to change out of his uniform.

When they sat down for dinner that night, Noah eyed the still bloodstained knife that Stiles had placed on the table next to him.

“No knives at the table.”

Stiles looked at his father, then looked at the knives at each place setting.

“No bloody knives.” Noah amended.

“It’s dry?” Stiles tried, but at his father’s stern look, he took the knife upstairs to his room.

“It makes him feel safe.” Jackson commented when he knew Stiles was out of earshot.

“I still don’t want to see it when I’m eating.” Jackson nodded. It certainly wasn’t nice to look at and it didn’t help that Jackson knew exactly what that knife had done to Stiles, but he wasn’t going to begrudge him something that helped him feel better after the hell they went through. 

While Jackson’s time there wasn’t fun (and it was definitely painful), he knew Stiles had it worse. It would affect the human more than it did him, so he was going to support anything that made him feel better.

“When are you going to go home?” The sheriff asked.

“My parents are in London, sir,” Jackson replied, “I don’t really have a home.”

Noah nodded, “Just as long as there’s no sex while I’m in the house.”

The comment made Jackson choke on the food in his mouth and had Stiles cackling from his place in the doorway.


	7. Tail

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick warning, if you struggle with body dysphoria you probably want to avoid the portion in the preserve, which is the end of the chapter. I'll provide a summery in end notes so you don't miss anything.
> 
> Also, sorry for a later than normal update, my wifi has been wonky and will probably cut out again in the near future. If this happens again, just know I'm just as anxious to post the next chapter as you are to have it posted.
> 
> As always I love seeing your kudos and comments! Thanks for reading!

Stiles and Jackson had been contentedly cuddling on the couch when Stiles stomach started to rumble.

“I’ll go pick up some food from that diner you like.” Jackson said before kissing Stiles on the forehead and getting up.

“Why do you do things like that?”

“Like what?” Jackson’s eyebrows were pinched and his head was cocked a little, “I care about you and you need food. It’s not a big deal.”

“No. Not the food,” Stiles tried to explain, “The forehead kiss. Why do you do that, but won’t give me real kisses.”

“Stiles, we’ve talked about this-”

“No!” Stiles interrupted, “You’ve slept with the majority of the population of Beacon Hills and the surrounding towns since you’ve been back, but the second we’re together you’re Mister Celibacy. What gives? Am I not as good as a random stranger?”

Jackson’s eyes went wide, “No! You’re so much better than a random stranger. Sleeping with them, it meant nothing, but you mean everything. That’s why I want to wait; because you matter. Sleeping with you will mean something. I don’t want to mess it up. I don’t want you to be just another random fuck. All I am to them is a hot body. I wanted to show you that I’m more than that.”

“Jackson, if I just thought of you as a hot body or a random fuck we wouldn’t be here right now,” Stiles smiled softly, “We have so much bad blood between us that if that were to happen it would have been a one time hate fuck. I’m in this, Jackson. I care about you. I don’t want to think about who the last person you slept with was; I want to know it was me.”

With that, Stiles got up from the couch and Jackson strode across the room and they met in a heated kiss. It wasn’t the best kiss of all time, there was a lot of teeth which became fangs as Jackson lost control. The danger of it just made Stiles feel hotter and want more.

Unfortunately, just as they were figuring out the proper teeth to lips to tongue ratio, Stiles stomach betrayed him by letting out another loud growl.

“I’m going to go get the food,” Jackson panted, “Once we’re both fueled up, we are going to continue this.”

Stiles nodded and then watched as Jackson walked out the door. His heart was still racing and he was feeling a little light headed due to all the blood that rushed south. He plopped back down on the couch as a smile came across his face. 

He finally knew exactly where he stood with Jackson. It wasn’t just some wolfy protective instinct that was keeping him around, Jackson actually liked him. He wanted to stick around! He never thought that he and Jackson would be in it for the long haul with each other, but here they were, together and happy.

Soon a knock rang out, breaking Stiles out of his blissful (and sinful) thoughts. He got up and opened the door to find Kira on the other side.

“Kira!” Stiles greeted, “It’s been a long time. How are you?” Stiles stepped aside to let her in.

“I’ve been doing alright,” She replied, “I came over to apologize for running out of the hospital. You had just gone through a traumatic ordeal and needed your pack, and I left just because I felt a little off.”

They were now sitting on the couch facing each other, “It’s okay, Kira. I was pretty banged up and that’s not a nice sight to see. There are no hard feelings and I’m glad you’re here now.”

Kira smiled, but it faded as soon as her eyes landed on the coffee table.

“What is that?” She asked in a steely voice.

“That?” Stiles asked, picking up the blood stained dagger, “This was something the hunters used to torture me and they left it behind. For some reason I decided to keep it and I’ve been trying to clean it up, but I think that’s a lost cause.”

Kira’s eyes flicked back and forth between the knife in Stiles’ hand and his face. He wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but there was a knot in his stomach and it wouldn't stop tightening.

Kira slowly rose from the couch and took a step back, towards the door.

“Don’t come any closer.” She warned as her hand moved slowly to her belt.

“Kira, what are you doing?” Stiles asked as he rose from the couch, knife still in hand, “What’s going on?”

“I think you’re possessed again.” She stated calmly as she removed her belt and turned it into a sword.

“That’s impossible,” Stiles started, “I count my fingers all the time to make sure I’m not under again. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten,” He counted to prove his point, “If I were possessed the nogitsune would have slaughtered all of those hunters and probably Jackson, too. It’s me, Kira, it’s Stiles.”

“Then why do you have a tail?” She asked with her eyes on the knife.

Stiles looked down at the dagger in his hand. He had been oddly drawn to it. There was really no logical reason why a person would want to keep something they had been tortured with. He remembered when Kira kept the shard of metal that had struck her and how she kept that and forged it into her first tail.

Then he thought about the strange healing, how that had happened after Jackson had attacked Scott and Jackson was then electrocuted multiple times when Stiles was trying to get the cuffs off. It was the pain, confusion, and chaos that healed him. Stiles wasn’t possessed, he was somehow an actual nogitsune now.

His hands started to shake at the realization, “Kira-” He choked out.

“Stiles, you know what I have to do.”

He looked at her with pleading eyes, begging her not to. Not only could he see her inward struggle, but he could feel it. She didn’t want to kill her friend, and just the thought was torturing her. That inner turmoil was making Stiles feel stronger and it left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth.

With no warning, she lunged at him, her katana slicing through where Stiles was, only Stiles wasn’t there anymore. He was behind Kira, now. She looked at the empty space, confusion coming off her in waves before she turned around and saw Stiles.

“Kira, you don’t have to do this!” Stiles pleaded. She lunged again, but Stiles evaded her again.

“I don’t want to hurt anybody!” Another lunge, “You know me! Please don’t kill me!”

He could feel her wavering in her conviction. She tried to see only an enemy before her, but she knew he was a friend. Stiles used this to his advantage, soaking it all up. He felt it become easier to evade her strikes and he even landed a few of his own.

When it was clear Kira wasn’t going to give up and that her resolve hardened against Stiles, he plunged his knife-tail into Kira’s heart. He lowered her to the ground, took the knife out and then struck again. And again. And again. Until he knew she wasn’t going to hurt him, he kept striking.

He stopped only when he heard the door open. It was then that he realized how much his hands were shaking and how much access energy he had. Growing up with ADHD, Stiles knew what it felt like having too much energy, but this was over the top and kind of addicting.

He heard a gasp behind him, coming from the hallway that snapped him back to reality. He turned around and saw Jackson standing there, slack jawed, holding bags of take out.

“What happened?” He whispered, taking in the state of the living room.

“She tried to kill me.” Stiles whispered back. The next thing he knew, Jackson was kneeling on the ground, in a puddle of blood, cradling Stiles’ shaking form, “She tried to kill me.”

“Why would Kira do that?” Jackson questioned, “I didn’t know her very well, but she seemed so sweet. She wouldn’t go after a friend like that.”

“She called me a nogitsune.” Stiles could feel Jackson’s muscles tense when he heard that word and he could feel the pain as Jackson was most likely running through memories of their time with the hunters.

“That thing is gone.” Jackson insisted.

“It is, but she was right,” Stiles confessed, “The nogitsune is gone, but that doesn’t mean I’m not one.”

“That’s a big assumption to make and she tried to kill you over it.” Stiles could tell Jackson was trying to comfort him, but that wasn’t really the man’s forte.

“What do I do now?” Stiles asked, “I killed a pack member. There are going to be consequences.”

“No there won’t be,” Stiles pulled himself out of Jackson’s grip to get a good look at his face, “We are going to clean this up before your dad gets home and we are going to bury this body tonight. We’ll tell them Kira came over to apologize, but her fox was acting up, so she needed to go back to the desert.”

“And I thought I was the man with the plan,” Stiles smirked, “It’s sexy when someone else thinks for a change.”

Jackson snorted, “Was that why you chased after Lydia for so long?”

“Maybe.” Jackson gave Stiles a little shove before pulling him in for a kiss and then getting to work on making the living room spotless.

They started by finding a jumbo garbage bag and somehow fitting Kira into it. They then changed out of their bloody clothes and Jackson started mopping while Stiles showered the blood and grime off himself. 

They then straightened the living room back up and carried the concealed body to the jeep. They only got one questioning look from a neighbor, but Stiles just responded by saying they were doing some spring cleaning donations. Thankfully this wasn’t the busy body neighbor who would have hounded to go through the bad first.

When they went back inside, Jackson went to get plates for their now cold food and Stiles started cleaning the knife again since there was more blood on it now. Thankfully Kira’s blood did come off.

Dinner that night was awkward with his dad, who was the sheriff. Even though the conversation never came close to talking about Kira, Stiles couldn’t stop thinking about the body in his trunk. Finally, his dad was asleep and it was dark enough out that they could go bury the body.

Jackson and Stiles grabbed some shovels from the garage and added them to the trunk before heading out to the preserve. Stiles should consider it nice that they have a dumping ground so close, but he had hoped to never have to actually use it to bury a body.

They drove as far in as they could without drawing suspicion and then unloaded the trunk; Stiles with the shovels and Jackson with the body. They walked about a mile farther into the preserve before they found a place that would be good and started digging.

About ten minutes in, Stiles said, “This isn’t my body.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Jackson asked, “You killed her, it’s your body. God knows I have enough blood on my hands.”

“No, I wasn’t talking about Kira,” Stiles huffed, “My physical body isn’t mine.”

“You got dysphoria or something?” Jackson asked.

“No… well maybe this would count, but I don’t think it does,” Stiles shook his head as if to get that thought out, “The nogitsune, when we split, he took my body and gave me the new one. My body died when Scott bit it.”

“How do you know this one isn’t the original?” Jackson asked.

“Remember in elementary school when I fell out of the tree and busted my leg up? I had that scar on my thigh?”

“Yeah, you had been trying to impress Lydia with how high you could climb.” Jackson laughed.

“That scar is gone,” Stiles confessed, “All of them from before… gone. I’ve gotten new scars since then, but this was a brand new body. The one that I had spent seventeen years in died with the bite. It’s one of the reasons I’ve never asked for it, afraid that means this body would die, too.”

“Why are you telling me this? Why now?”

“If the body was made by the nogitsune, could I be a nogitsune?”

“Stiles-”

“No! Don’t interrupt,” Jackson’s lips formed a tight line. He wasn’t happy, but he was complying, “This body was made by the nogitsune. When the hunters did their thing, my mind vacated the premises. I wasn’t faking being catatonic to get out, or whatever. After my brain went bye-bye and I was tortured again and the hunters were conflicted, that’s when I was able to make it out. Then the crazy hospital and the healing. It makes sense. I’m not possessed by a nogitsune, but the nogitsune gave me the body of one. I just had to activate it.”

“What does that mean for you? For us?” The second question was asked more quietly than the first, but Stiles could still hear it. He didn’t know if it was because they were so close or if he had super hearing now.

“For now it means we’re burying a body.” Stiles answered and he left it at that. If it were possible to feed on his own inner turmoil he would be having a feast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In 3B the nogitsune took Stiles' real body and gave him a new one, so Stiles does not feel right in his new body. It is due to this switch that Stiles is turning into a nogitsune himself.


	8. Argent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter we get a little bit of someone else's perspective. I think I'm going to play around with that more in the future as the pack starts figuring things out.
> 
> As always I love hearing from you! Comments and kudos are much appreciated. Hope y'all like this update!

Stiles lay awake that night wondering what all of this meant. Jackson was curled up next to him, using his shoulder as a pillow. He looked like he didn’t have a problem in the world. Meanwhile Stiles couldn’t stop thinking about his problem.

He was a nogitsune and he killed his friend, his pack member. Was this going to be similar to when he was possessed, or will he remain the same Stiles, just with more chaos and murder thrown in? It was too soon to tell, but he was already feeling an itch under his skin to do something, like he had been idle for too long. He could tell this was different than his normal ADHD symptoms.

“I can hear you thinking.” Jackson muttered against Stiles’ skin.

“I can feel it,” Stiles said, “There’s a need. It’s growing stronger.”

“Then we’ll meet the need.” Stiles snorted. It wasn’t as simple as Jackson was trying to make it.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“But you need to,” While it was true, it still hasn’t at all what he wanted to hear, “Then let’s make sure you hurt those who deserve it.”

Stiles thought about that for a little bit before responding. He glanced across the room to his comic book collection. Most of those guys hurt people, but only those who deserved it. Maybe he could become like Batman, but with actual powers.

“What if the more I feed it, the more it takes over.” This was his biggest concern.

“I’ll keep you grounded,” Jackson pulled him in for a quick kiss, “Remind you of the annoying bitch you are.”

“Ah yes, there’s the old Jackson. I was wondering where you went.” Stiles smirked.

“Shut up.”

“No! It was like you were replaced by this over-protective, lovey-dovey, lizard-man!”

“Lizard-man?” With that, Jackson pounced and the two started wrestling. Jackson obviously could easily over power Stiles, but he didn’t have to hold back as much as he thought he would. Stiles was getting stronger every day, cast be damned.

Their wrestling was starting to get a little heated when a banging started coming from the other side of the wall, and it wasn’t the bed doing the banging.

“Ugh, my dad is my least favorite person right now,” Stiles complained, “We finally agreed we were ready for sex and when we try, he stops us. Total boner killer.”

“Well, I think it’s good that he stopped us,” Stiles gave him a questioning look, “This would have been over pretty quick, and I want to be able to take my time with you. Not have to worry about anyone overhearing your noises that are just for me.”

“Okay, boner’s back.” Stiles Tried to pull Jackson into another kiss so they could get going again, but he refused to move.

“Your dad’s in the other room, but he has the night shift tomorrow.” Jackson smirked.

“I don’t even care why you know his schedule. If we don’t have sex tomorrow you are officially the worst boyfriend in the world.”

Jackson scoffed, “I won that title long before you and I got together.”

Stiles hummed his agreement before snuggling into Jackson’s side and falling peacefully asleep.

Stiles didn’t know how long the peacefulness lasted because the next thing he knew, he was back in the torture chamber and the hunters were electrocuting him. However, with every shock, Stiles’ smile got wider until he started cackling. Before he knew it, he had somehow amplified the electric current and sent it out, killing the hunters where they stood.

He woke up panting, with sweat on his brow and the smell of frying flesh still in his nose. Thankfully that smell was overtaken by the coffee and bacon smell that was coming up from downstairs. 

He rolled towards the smell and realized he was alone in bed. He groaned, upset at the thought that he missed out on morning cuddles, and got out of bed. He threw on an old t-shirt that should probably be washed or just thrown out, and a pair of loose sweats and went downstairs to the wonderful smelling breakfast that was awaiting him.

What he saw made him smile. His dad was sitting at the table, drinking coffee and reading the paper, while commenting on some of the story to Jackson, who was in the kitchen finishing up breakfast. Stiles just stood in the doorway watching the domesticity of it all.

“Hey, there you are sleepy-head.” Jackson said without turning around. Figures he’d hear him walk up, stupid werewolf.

Jackson scrapped the eggs into a bowl and placed that along with a plate of waffles onto the table. Stiles grabbed the maple syrup out of the cupboard and the orange juice from the fridge and they were ready for breakfast.

It was nice and domestic and for the second meal in a row nobody brought up murder or Kira. Things were going well. His dad excused himself to run some errands before his shift that night and that left Stiles and Jackson to figure out what they wanted to do for the day.

“I had an idea,” Jackson raised an eyebrow that told Stiles to go on, “I want to try it out. The vigilante thing, I mean. The itch to do something impulsive and dangerous won’t go away, so I want to try it.”

“What did you have in mind?” Jackson asked.

“We go after the hunters,” Stiles responded with a smirk, “What do you say, wanna be the Robin to my Batman?”

“What the hell, Stiles? I am not Robin!”

“Fine,” Stiles sighed, “How about you be the Arsenal to my Green Arrow?”

Jackson rolled his eyes, “If we’re going with the superhero analogy, that one works just fine.”

Chris was starting to get hungry and decided now was as good a time as any to start making dinner. However, when he got to the kitchen he noticed all the knives were missing. He looked in the dishwasher, thinking maybe he had forgotten to put them back, but there were none in there either.

Just then the lights cut out. He reached for his gun, but felt a sharp pain on his neck. He ended up slumped on the floor, unable to move: kanima venom.

“Hello, Christopher!” Said a cheery Stiles above him.

“Stiles, what the hell is going on?” It was then that he realized Stiles was holding the knife he found at the warehouse. He was just casually twirling it around as if Chris wasn’t paralized and prone just below him.

“Well, you see there have been some developments,” There was a cough off to the side, probably Whittemore, “Right, but those aren’t important. What is important is where those hunters went.”

“I don’t know where they are. I’ve already told you that!”

“But you have a good idea of where they might be,” Stiles stated, “Tell me, Chris, why would you hold back information if you are an ally of the pack? What do you have to hide?”

Chris clenched his jaw. He wasn’t going to say anything and he knew that while Stiles was more morally grey than the rest of the pack, he wouldn’t hurt Chris for information.

He was wrong. Apparently kanima venom did not dull pain because he could feel it as the knife went into his left hand.

“This is just a small taste of what they did to me,” Stiles stated cooly as he twisted the blade, “Now where are they? Who are they?”

When he didn’t respond Stiles took the knife and started slicing the skin off the tip of Chris’ finger.

“Need it to look like an accident,” Stiles explained, “This also draws it out more. So tell me, who are they and where are they? I can go all night and I have an endless supply of kanima venom to keep you still… Although maybe it would be fun to watch you squirm.”

Chris was confused. This was nothing like the boy he knew. Stiles said there had been developments, but nothing could make him go so coldhearted so quickly, make him reveal in pain.

Stiles got through the majority of his fingers on his left hand before Chris finally caved, “They are Argents, distant cousins. They never met Allison, but they take every Argent death seriously. I don’t keep in touch with them, but I know a few safe houses where they might be. But if they were smart they would have gone somewhere I don’t know.”

“Give us the addresses.” Stiles said as Jackson came into view with a pad of paper and a pen.

That night Stiles lay in bed buzzing with energy. Jackson was asleep beside him, completely wiped out after their marathon sex session. Who knew pain would be such a turn on? Or maybe that was just his nogitsune talking… But who cares? He had so much energy Jackson ended up not being able to keep up even with his werewolf stamina.

He looked at the sheet of addresses laying on the bedside table. Soon, he would be able to gain even more power and energy while also getting dangerous baddies off the street. Maybe this wasn’t going to be as bad as he initially thought.

This felt nothing like being possessed. He still felt like himself, only more. Was this what the wolves felt like after they were bit? Or what Jackson felt like after the kanima curse was broken? He’d have to ask sometime because it was awesome.

Jackson was right, just because he was a nogitsune didn’t mean he was evil, he just had to utilize it properly. He glanced at the list again and then back to Jackson… yeah, he’d definitely utilize it well.


	9. The Pack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's been a month since I updated this. I had been focusing on my Christmas fic, lost wifi, and then had to reread this to figure out where I had wanted to go. But with the reread I was very happy with what had been written so far.
> 
> I would love to hear what you think in comments/kudos!

The next morning Stiles and Jackson woke up to texts from Scott about an emergency pack meeting. The two dragged themselves out of bed and got ready before heading out to the pack house.

Pulling up they could see they were the last to arrive. When they entered the living room they saw everyone sitting down while Scott paced back and forth. Lydia glanced over at the couple before looking back at Scott.

“We’re all here,” Lydia pointed out, “Are you going to tell us why you called this meeting?”

“Kira’s missing.” Scott answered.

Stiles’ stomach tightened, but he kept his heartbeat steady. Since he was always around werewolves he had practiced controlling his heartbeat and chemosignals, not wanting everyone to know his business. That skill came in handy now and he hoped Jackson was able to do the same.

“What do you think happened to her?” Stiles asked as he and Jackson sat down in the open arm chair.

“I’m not sure, but we had a date planned and she didn’t show up!” Scott never let up on his pacing, “And she didn’t respond to the text for the emergency meeting. Her parents haven’t seen her in two days. Something’s up.”

“The last time I saw her was at the hospital,” Jackson chimed in, “She said she was feeling off. Do you think something happened with her kitsune? I remember you all telling me about that.”

That got Scott to actually stop and think for a minute, which admittedly was not his strong suit.

“She would have said goodbye.” Scott insisted. The two had been inseparable since she had returned from the skinwalkers. Malia was hurt at first, but quickly got over it as the two hadn’t really had time to establish a solid relationship yet.

“Maybe not,” Lydia said, “If she knew saying goodbye could possibly hurt you, she would have just left.”

“But what about a text? Or a note?” Scott insisted.

“She’s a thunder kitsune,” Danny offered, “Texting or calling would be out of the question because she would just short it out.”

“She did come to see me the other day,” Stiles admitted, “She apologized for running out of the hospital, but then she was acting weird. She left abruptly, no word as to where she was going.” It was enough of the truth that he didn’t have to worry about controlling his heart.

“It is the most plausible explanation.” Derek said as he stood up and placed a hand on Scott’s shoulder, comforting his alpha.

Scott looked pained. It was obvious he wasn’t taking this well. Stiles knew he would be the hardest one to convince, but he also knew that he would be the first one Scott would come to to try and locate her and he would be able to leave a trail of breadcrumbs leading to the desert.

“I’ll go talk to the Yukimuras. See if they saw anything suspicious. Would you be willing to do a quick run through of the preserve just to make sure nothing is off?” The wolves nodded and with that, Scott left to begin his investigation. 

Stiles had been so concerned about convincing Scott and the pack that he had forgotten about Kira’s parents. He also hadn’t considered the wolves running through the preserve. Jackson gave his waist a reassuring squeeze before he rearranged them so he could get up.

“Well, are we searching the preserve or just standing around like pansies?” He asked and that got the wolves moving. He gave Stiles a quick wink before he left saying, “We should split up to cover more ground. Get this over with faster.” The other wolves nodded in agreement and Stiles was left with Lydia, Mason, and Danny.

“I’m surprised Jackson went with them.” Lydia said once the wolves were out of earshot.

“What do you mean?” Stiles asked.

“Well, he hasn’t left your side. Not even to hang out with me or Lydia.” Danny pointed out.

“We were tortured. It’ll take a while before things go back to normal.”

“Do you want them to go back to normal?” Lydia asked.

“I wish some things would,” Stiles admitted, “But I like being with Jackson. He makes me feel special and loved. It’d be nice if our relationship actually started because of the blind date instead of the kidnapping, but I can’t change that. Right now we need the comfort of knowing the other is safe. He knows I’m safe with you guys and I know he’s safe with the pack. I think us separating for a little bit now is going to be good for our relationship.”

Lydia gave him a scrutinizing look, “As much as I wanted you two together, I think this was needed to give you both a kick in the pants.”

“Lydia!” Danny and Mason both called out in shock.

“What? I’m not saying the kidnapping and torturing was good. But I am saying that you both have such extreme personalities that it was going to take something extreme to get you two together.”

“You’re not wrong.” Stiles laughed. He never in a million years would have pictured being in a relationship with Jackson, let alone Jackson helping him commit and cover up murders. None of that would have happened without the hunters. While he despises them and what they did, he’s also grateful for what he has with Jackson.

Not too long after that, the pack returned and Jackson scooped Stiles up for some more cuddles.

“No traces of Kira in the preserve.” Derek announced as he texted Scott that same information. Stiles snuggled more into Jackson as he let out a sigh of relief. They were going to get away with it.

Unbeknownst to Jackson and Stiles, Derek was also keeping Chris Argent up to date on the Kira situation. The whole thing left a sour taste in the man’s mouth.

It would be a strange coincidence if Kira vanished the same time he got assaulted by Stiles. Something happened to the kid when he was with the hunters and Chris would bet his armory that Kira figured it out.

Derek also mentioned that the pack had split up on their search. It was likely that Jackson intentionally took the area that Kira was buried. He texted Derek back to do a full sweep on his own, in secret.

He hoped this was all paranoia and that all Stiles wanted was revenge, but this seemed like something deeper. Chris debated calling the hunters and telling them to run, but they deserved what was coming and he would not want to find out what Stiles would do to him should his captors get away.

For now it was a situation to monitor and hope it didn’t get out of hand. If it did turn out that Stiles killed Kira, Chris and Derek would have to inform Scott and he didn’t envision that conversation going well. The young alpha always saw the best in others and would not take the accusations against his best friend lightly.

Chris sighed as he looked at his maimed hand. No matter what this wouldn’t end well and Chris hoped and prayed that he was wrong.


	10. The Hunters Part 2

Thankfully the sheriff was gone when Stiles and Jackson got home because the two of them celebrated getting away with murder. A lot. And in different positions. Eventually Jackson contentedly fell asleep and Stiles used his excess energy from Scott’s crazy emotions to clean them up. 

Once that was done, he tucked Jackson in and decided to research the potential locations Chris had given them. A basic google maps search only came up with empty lots, which was odd. However, despite the lots being vacant, there were cars at each lot in each image.

He then moved on to search for who owned the property, but came up with nothing. He searched all night but only came up with dead ends. His frustration was mounting when a pair of comforting arms wound their way around him.

“What’s got you all hot and bothered?” Jackson whispered in his ear.

“I’m more bothered than hot at the moment,” Stiles retorted, “I can’t find these stupid hunters. I keep getting dead ends.”

“Then I think that means we found them,” Stiles glanced at him, waiting for him to continue, “Think about it. These are their safe houses for after a hunt gone wrong. They aren’t going to be on the map or easy to find. We will find them, but we need the right person looking.”

Stiles pinched his eyebrows trying to think of who Jackson meant and then a smile broke out on his face, “You are a genius!”

He grabbed Jackson’s face and started kissing it all over. Eventually they made it back to bed where Stiles showed Jackson exactly what he thought of him, but only once, he didn’t need the other man passing out on him again.

When they were done, Jackson went to take a shower while Stiles made him breakfast. His dad was going to be home soon, so he made sure to make enough for him as well. He heard the front door open the same time Jackson came down the stairs.

“Perfect timing! I just finished breakfast.” Jackson came up behind him and gave him a kiss on the cheek before helping get the food onto the table. Stiles looked up at his father and saw concern staring back at him.

“What’s wrong pops?” Stiles asked. That question made Jackson stop and look over at Noah as well. He could tell the wolf was trying to get a read on chemosignals and his heartbeat in order to try and figure it out.

“Chris Argent came to see me today.” Noah said.

“Oh? What did he have to say?” Stiles asked, “As far as I know there aren’t any new supernatural threats around.” Lie. He’s a threat.

“He was asking if I noticed anything different about you since you’ve been back.”

“And do you?” Stiles asked so quietly that he wasn’t even sure if Jackson could hear him. He was afraid of the answer. If his dad could see a change, then that would mean the nogitsune really was taking over and Stiles would be lost to the world for good.

“Well, there is the difference that you and Jackson, who you used to call Jackass, are attached at the hip way more than you and Scott were,” Noah answered, “And I have noticed some small changes, like you taking that knife with you everywhere. But you’ve been through something traumatic, there’s bound to be little changes as you get used to life again. You may never be the same again, in all honesty.”

Stiles nodded, he knew all this, especially with the added bonus of becoming a nogitsune.

“I want you to see a therapist,” Noah continued, “Both of you, but individual sessions. Not together.”

Stiles looked over to Jackson and saw he was just as shell shocked as Stiles felt. The three of them sat down at the table as what Noah suggested hung in the air between them.

“Is that possible?” Jackson asked, “We can’t really be completely honest with a therapist unless they’re in the know.”

“I can talk to Derek and Deaton,” Noah suggested, “They may know someone.”

Stiles nodded, “If you can find a supernatural therapist, I’ll go.” 

He could see Jackson nodding in agreement, “I think joint sessions would also be beneficial.”

“If we find a therapist we’ll see what they recommend.” Noah stated and that was the end of that conversation.

Stiles, on one hand, was relieved. When the sheriff had come home talking about Chris, he thought this was over for him. That Eichen House would be waiting just around the corner to take him back to the creepy prison in the depths of the asylum.

Instead his dad was just concerned for his well being. It was nice and it was grounding. Having his father here gave him a reason to stay connected. The energy and power was addicting, but as long as his dad and Jackson were around, he would make sure he didn’t lose himself in it.

Noah excused himself to sleep before his next shift and Jackson and Stiles left to go visit Danny. Jackson texted him from the car and confirmed he was at home. They pulled up and Danny let them in.

When they got to the privacy of his room, they gave him the addresses they needed info on. He gave them skeptical looks, but did it no questions and they didn’t ask questions about how he got the information.

He found the Nevada address had some heat signatures underground. He also found what looked to be an entrance to the underground bunker. Jackson and Stiles took the information back home to start planning their next move.

They decided the best first move would be to test out what Stiles could actually do. They were going to go into this almost completely blind, so it was good to know what their assets were. They found an isolated clearing where they would be able to figure it out without any interruptions or fear that others in the pack would see.

They found out he had super strength, as Stiles was able to punch through a tree. As Jackson removed the splinters from his hand, they found out he also had healing on some level. They also found out he had super speed, as he was able to outrun Jackson easily.

They hypothesized that his abilities would grow as the chaos around him increased. Jackson suggested they test that theory out, but Stiles refused to hurt him or get anyone else involved. They would only get that answer once they were taking out the hunters.

The day finally came. The sheriff was scheduled to work for almost a full day, so Stiles and Jackson took that opportunity to road trip to Nevada. They had Danny on the phone giving them live updates as to what was happening at the safe house. From what he could tell there have been five guys going in and out of the place all week. With any luck that was all that was going to be there.

They parked the jeep a quarter of a mile away and walked the rest of the way to try and avoid suspicion. Stiles had a few vials of kanima venom in case he and Jackson got separated. He also had his knife, his bat, and a gun.

After they went inside, the safe home became a blood bath. Danny’s research was right and there were only five hunters inside. Two of them Stiles recognized from the parking lot, but the other three were strangers.

That didn’t matter, though. They were helping his captors and Stiles was seeing red. He and Jackson attacked quickly and surprisingly in sync and the hunters were not ready for an attack by two powerful supernatural creatures.

He made sure the death of the strangers was quick. While he didn’t want them to keep living, he didn’t have enough information to know if they deserved the torture that the other two were going to get.

He really took his time with those two. Everything that had been done to him, he did to them. Only he didn’t give them a break like he had. No, they got one form of torture right after the other. The more pain in the air, the more he wanted to cause. By the time they bled out, he felt invigorated.

Jackson helped him expend that excess energy in the shower while they cleaned up. They only went one round before they decided they needed to head back. They changed into clean clothes and then burned the bunker in their wake.


	11. The Therapist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all enjoy this chapter that is a little more fluff than angst!
> 
> As always kudos and comments are welcome!

It turned out Derek did know a therapist and he was seeing her to talk through the whole Kate trauma. Stiles was proud that he was taking that step, but he wasn’t sure he was ready. The only reason he was even trying was because his father insisted and Jackson was willing to go as well. And that they both agreed to keep the whole nogitsune transformation under wraps. 

They had their first session together so that Dr. Diana Johnson could assess how they are together before treating them separately. She had light brown hair pulled up into a bun and a comforting look about her and she was younger, which he supposed was to give them a peer feel in the sessions, but he wasn’t buying it.

Stiles felt awkward during the whole thing. He felt like she was judging them and he was hyper aware of how he and Jackson were acting and what they were saying. While he knew the therapy would be beneficial, he didn’t want her to think they were codependent or crazy or anything. He had to keep reminding himself that Derek trusted her, so he and Jackson could, too.

“I don’t like her.” Stiles said as soon as he and Jackson were in the parking lot.

“We had one session, Stiles,” Jackson insisted, “Give her a chance.”

“What if she figures it out?” Stiles asked.

“She won’t. We won’t let that happen.” Jackson pulled him in and gave him a hug and a quick kiss on the temple.

Stiles relished the comfort and attention. Jackson had a knack for making everything better.

Jackson eventually pulled away, “Let’s go. The pack is waiting.”

Apparently Derek had informed the pack about them starting therapy and they wanted a movie night with a puppy pile to show their support. He hadn’t liked the idea of them knowing his business at first, but he knew he needed the support right now.

Jackson drove them to the Hale house and Stiles was immediately surrounded by the comfort of pack as he and Jackson were pulled into the middle of the puppy pile and Star Wars was starting on the TV. Figures it would take something traumatic for Scott to finally watch it. Stiles repressed the bitterness that brought and chose to live in this moment of comfort and love.

Stiles woke up to a dark room and a tangle of limbs. He heard something in the kitchen, so he carefully extracted himself from the pile and made sure he didn’t wake anyone up. He quietly made his way to the kitchen and found Derek quietly talking on the phone.

“I can’t wait to see you, too,” He said, “I can’t stop thinking about you, beautiful.”

Wait, Derek was seeing someone? Why didn’t the pack know? Why these late night phone calls? Did Dr. Johnson know? She should know.

“Ok, Diana, I’ll see you tomorrow, sexy.”

Stiles silently made his way back to the puppy pile and pretended to sleep while his mind was racing. Dr. Johnson’s first name was Diana. Derek has a session with her tomorrow. He was seeing a therapist about sexual abuse and his therapist was sexually abusing him? Even if it was consensual it was still unethical. With his history this shouldn’t even be an issue.

Maybe it was some type of therapy to get him used to saying things like that again. To reclaim romantic and sexy talk from memories of Kate and Jennifer… Julia? But that method was really unorthodox. No matter what, this situation deserved some investigation and maybe some intervention, if it came to that.

Eventually he got back to sleep and was haunted with dreams of Derek being pushed down on a bed by Diana. He tried to get up and escape, but wolfsbane rope appeared and tied him to the bed. Derek couldn’t do anything as his body autonomy was taken once again and Stiles was rooted to the spot, unable to do anything but stand and watch as his friend was taken advantage of yet again.

When he woke up again, it was to the sound of people moving around and a pair of arms wrapped around him, gently caressing him as he came to full consciousness. He opened his eyes to see Jackson looking at him with concern.

“You were having a nightmare.” He commented.

“It’s okay.” Stiles responded, punctuating it with a quick peck on the lips. Jackson gave him a dubious look, “It will be okay.” Stiles amended. Jackson gave him a soft smile before giving him an equally soft kiss and helping Stiles up.

The pack had made breakfast and set the table. It was a loud, boisterous affair. Normally Stiles would be right in the middle of the chaos, but with what he had just found out about Derek, he wasn’t feeling it.

Jackson could tell something was off with Stiles, so as soon as they were done eating, he excused them and they went home.

“Wanna talk about it?” Jackson asked when they got inside.

“I think Dr. Johnson is sleeping with Derek.” He then went on to explain everything. Jackson was silent and nodded along with his theories.

“We do nothing for now,” Jackson said when Stiles was finished, “We observe and then when the need comes back, we make our move.”

“Exactly what I was thinking.” Stiles smiled and kissed him. Next thing they knew they were making out on the couch and Stiles’ dad was hollering, “Oh hell no!” before pulling them apart.

“No where I can see, please!” He pleaded with them.

“Maybe we should get our own place.” Jackson commented.

“Yes please!” Stiles exclaimed. He almost jumped him right there again, but then he remembered his dad in the room and he ended up just pulling Jackson upstairs to the privacy of their room.

“No sex while I’m in the house!” Noah called behind them.

There are times Jackson thought Stiles was turning into an incubus instead of a nogitsune. As soon as they agreed to have sex he has been insasciable. It was nice to fall asleep in the afterglow of an orgasm or two, but it was less nice that he knew Stiles wasn’t peacefully falling asleep as well.

He knew it was because Stiles had a lot of energy now. The longer they went without anything chaotic or painful, the more Stiles would sleep, but when that happened he could see how wired Stiles became.

He had considered confessing this to their counselor. There was confidentiality after all and maybe she would know some way to help Stiles with all of this. But with the revelation about her relationship with Derek, he knew they couldn’t trust her at all.

This time after they finished, Stiles was the one asleep. He would have thought after killing off the hunters Stiles would be buzzing with energy right now, and he had been for a few days, but after meeting with Dr. Johnson and what he heard Derek saying, it’s like his own inner turmoil was draining him.

Whether they liked it or not, the itch would be returning sooner rather than later and Dr. Johnson was most likely going to be the target. Derek was going to need so much real therapy after this. Another girlfriend who took advantage of him and/or died.

Jackson sighed and looked down at Stiles. He wanted to see Stiles sleep peacefully, but instead his face was scrunched up and he was breathing heavily. Jackson was debating whether or not he should wake him, but ultimately decided to let him sleep because he deserved that break from reality. If it seemed like the dreams were getting to be too much, then he would wake him.

Until then, Jackson lay there, watching over Stiles like a guardian angel.

“I won’t let anyone hurt you,” Jackson promised before kissing Stiles on the forehead and settling into Stiles’ side, “Not even yourself.” They would get through all of this together.


	12. Despicable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one day?!?! Yes, because there are people in my house that were supposed to be gone by now, so I'm avoiding them.
> 
> Anyway, warning with this chapter, there is a dream sequence that involves rape. If this triggers you, stop reading after Derek's phone call and pick up when breakfast in mentioned.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are appreciated! Love y'all!

Stiles went into his next therapy session with his eyes wide open. Jackson had his session first, so he had an hour to hang out in the lobby and observe what was going on. 

He went up and talked to the receptionist a little bit and got a peak and Dr. Johnson’s schedule. He saw that she had a lunch date with D, but it didn’t have any more information than that. Her lunch was scheduled right after Stiles’ session.

He took out his phone and texted Derek to see if he wanted to get lunch after he and Jackson were done here.

**Derek:** _Can’t. Working._

Yup. As masterful with his words as always. And a total liar. He was meeting up with his unethical, secret girlfriend and Stiles was going to prove it and he was going to stop it.

“I think we made a lot of progress today,” Dr Johnson said as she led Jackson out of her office, “Stiles, I’m ready when you are.”

Stiles got up and gave Jackson a quick kiss before heading into the office. He sat down on the couch and grabbed a pillow to hold against his chest.

“Alright, so how are we doing this?” Stiles asked.

“I think it would help if you were to take the defensive posture down a notch.” She laughed.

She seemed like such a kind, genuine person, but he knew the truth.

“Sorry,” Stiles said, loosening his grip on the pillow, “I’m used to talking a lot, but never about anything that matters.”

“This will all go at your pace,” She explained, “You don’t have to talk about anything you don’t want to. You lead the conversation, I’m just here to try and help bring closer. To be a sounding board of sorts.”

“Okay, we can do that,” Stiles nodded, thinking through how he wanted to play this, “The guy I’m dating isn’t emotionally available.” That was one way to go about it.

“In what way do you think he isn’t emotionally available?” She asked.

“Well, his first girlfriend used him for power,” He explained, trying to make the parallels clear, “That made him kind of distrustful. His parents are dead and his adoptive parents might as well be. He had a relationship he thought was good, but that boyfriend left him the first change he got. Sound familiar?”

“To be honest, no it doesn’t. This is the first time you’re telling me.” She gave him a sweet smile, but it was the sickeningly sweet kind. The kind that is obviously hiding something.

“Yeah, well, with all that emotional baggage, is it really the right time for him to be in a relationship?” He asked.

“I think that depends on where he is on his healing journey,” Dr. Johnson commented, “And what you two have talked about. As long as you are both open and honest with each other, there should be no reason for this to interfere with your relationship.”

Stiles took a moment to think that over. He knew this wasn’t a problem for him and Jackson. Enough time had passed that he wasn’t really affected by that anymore. He was worried about what this meant for Derek. Did Diana think that just because they talked about it (in a counseling setting) that it was okay to pursue a relationship? That by no means made it okay!

“What if he only likes me because it’s a shared trauma?” Stiles asked. This wasn’t a concern of his. He knew Lydia was right that this was inevitable in some way shape or form. But he also knew this was the kind of thing she would be expecting him to ask, so he played the part of the worried, traumatized boyfriend and let the rest of the hour play out.

At the end of their session, Dr. Johnson’s phone went off with a text. He caught a glimpse that it was from D. He couldn’t see anything that the text said, but he figured it was about their lunch date.

“Thank you for opening up today, Stiles.” Dr. Johnson said as she ushered him out of the room.

Jackson stood up as soon as he saw him and the two of them went to the reception desk to set up their next sessions. When they got to the car, Stiles drove them around the corner and parked on the side of the road.

“I know you like to make out, but I think this might be a little too close to our therapy sessions.”

“What? No!” Stiles said as he pulled out his phone, “I’m calling Danny.”

“Kinky.” Jackson winked.

“Not for sex stuff.” Stiles rolled his eyes, “Although if Ethan weren’t your ex I’d say we should set up a foursome. But no. I need him to track Dr. Johnson’s phone.”

“What? Why?”

“I think she has a rendezvous with Derek.”

Jackson raised his eyebrow and nodded for Stiles to start the call. Danny thought the request was a little odd, but again did it no questions asked… until the phone turned out to be headed into the preserve, specifically heading to the Hale house.

“Who’s phone did I track? Why are they heading to the pack house? Should I text the pack? Should we be worried?” And there were all the questions.

Stiles and Jackson exchanged a look, “She’s not a threat to us.” Jackson said.

“Maybe Derek.” Stiles huffed, but it was enough for Danny to hear.

“Another Jennifer?” Danny asked quietly.

“Maybe.” Stiles responded truthfully.

“Do what you need to do.” And then he hung up.

They both knew Danny was smart. It was likely that he’s been putting the pieces together. He may not know the specifics of what’s been happening to Stiles, but he definitely knew what they did to the hunters and he might know about Kira, even if he didn’t know why.

The fact that Danny was trusting them and still willing to help spoke volumes about his friendship and loyalty. He could have told the pack or Stiles’ dad what was going on, but instead chose to help Stiles and Jackson to do what they needed to do.

Stiles and Jackson decided to run through the preserve so that the sound of the jeep wouldn’t alert Derek to their presence. They needed to know what was going on in that house.

When they arrived they stayed in the tree line so that they couldn’t be seen. Through the window they could see Derek and Diana making out. Thanks to their enhanced hearing they could also hear all of their moans, which… ew. He would never be able to get that sound out of his head.

Stiles was seeing red again. There was nothing he wanted more than to go in there and rip her throat out… with his teeth, as Derek would say. He didn’t even realize he was moving until he felt Jackson holding him back.

“Not yet,” He said, “Not with Derek here.”

Stiles nodded. As much as he wanted to intervene, there had to be some self preservation. They walked back through the preserve and got into the jeep.

“Time to plan.” Jackson said with a smile.

The next week during Jackson’s session Stiles spent his time talking to the receptionist again. This time he saw that Derek was scheduled for a session that afternoon, which confirmed Diana was sleeping with her client who had a history of sexual abuse. Despicable.

When it was his turn to talk to Dr. Johnson, he decided to just B.S. it again and talked about what he and Jackson were like in high school. The bully to lover thing must be gold for counselors.

Finally, the session was over and they could get ready for what they had planned for that night.

“Did you get the information you needed?” Jackson asked when they got in the car.

“Yup. Both a client and a lover. This bitch has gotta go.” Stiles answered.

“Let’s do this, then.”

They parked the car at home and then ran to Dr. Johnson’s house. They put kanima venom in her wine and then hid and waited for her to come home. This murder was different than the others. Kira had been an accident and was hidden away. The hunters were easy to clean up. Diana needed a story for her death, and so they decided on suicide.

During their sessions, Stiles had been studying Dr. Johnson’s hand writing and was practicing at home. He took a piece of stationary and a pen and wrote out a suicide note, explaining how she would take advantage of her vulnerable patients and she couldn’t bare it any more.

Diana came home that night and went right for the wine. Stiles hadn’t expected it to go that much in their favor, but if he had to listen to everything that she did, he’d go straight for the alcohol, too.

It took awhile for the venom to get into her system, but when it did her wine glass came crashing down, as did the rest of her. It was then that Stiles and Jackson revealed themselves.

“Wha- what’s happening?” She asked.

“We know what you’re doing.” Stiles said.

Diana’s eyes went wide.

“Pack protects pack,” Jackson said, “What did you think we would do when we found out?”

“Please don’t do this!” Diana begged, “Don’t you want to know who your father is?”

This caused them to pause.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Stiles asked.

“I know someone who slept with Margaret Miller about nine months before you were born. Gordon Miller was not your father.”

“You’re lying,” Jackson stated with a shaky voice, “You’re trying to stall.”

He nodded to Stiles to continue. Stiles nodded back before picking up a large shard of the wine glass with a gloved hand. He placed it in Diana’s hand and sliced her opposite forearm open. He then repeated the process with the other arm.

“What’s his name?” Jackson asked as she bled out.

“G-go t-to h-he-ll.” She choked out before fading into unconsciousness.

They finished cleaning up any traces of them, but it didn’t have the normal excitement that it usually did. Stiles could tell Jackson was in his head about what the bitch said.

Once they were done they ran back home and Jackson immediately went to bed. Stiles made dinner for himself and Noah. It was chicken noodle soup, so if Jackson wanted to eat, it would be easy to stomach.

The next morning Jackson still wouldn’t get out of bed, so Stiles spent the day taking care of him. It really was a low blow for that bitch to try, but if it was true, then Jackson might actually get a father figure.

He kissed the top of Jackson’s head and mumbled something about running errands before driving over to Danny’s house.

“We are going to find Jackson’s birth father.” He announced as soon as Danny opened the door.


	13. Kanima

“Jackson’s birth father is dead.” Danny stated.

“No. His birth mother’s husband is dead,” Stiles explained, “That doesn’t mean his father is dead.”

“An affair.” Danny said, dumbfounded.

Stiles explained what happened with Diana and he took it pretty well. He wasn’t really all that surprised. Stiles even went so far as to confide in him about the nogitsune. That was had him taken aback, but he took it all in stride.

“Phone records from back then are going to be harder to trace,” Danny said, “But I’ll see what I can do.”

“It’s still possible the bitch was lying,” Stiles added, “But Jackson’s taking it really hard. If he’s real, we need to find him.”

“Then I’ll get to work.” Danny focused in on his computer and Stiles left.

He didn’t want Jackson to get his hopes up, so he decided to keep it a secret from him. Hopefully this would be the only secret he had to keep. And hopefully it wouldn’t take long to figure out if his birth father was alive and find him.

When he got home, he noticed the cruiser wasn’t in the driveway and all the lights were out. That wasn’t really much of a surprise considering Jackson didn’t really get out of bed these days. 

He walked in feeling the exhaustion of the day. While he hadn’t done anything really physical, there was a lot of emotional energy spent and not nearly enough chaos to keep him alert. Then next thing he knew, he was being slammed into the wall.

“What the hell is going on?” Stiles looked up into Argent’s very angry eyes.

“What are you talking about?” Stiles gritted out.

“You tortured me for information,” Chris stated, “That’s not like you. You torched the hunters, I get that. But what happened to Kira? To Dr. Johnson?”

“Why do you think I had something to do with them?” Stiles asked.

Chris shoved him again, “Don’t lie to me, Stiles. I know something is going on with you.”

Stiles saw movement in his periphery, “You’re right. I’m not the same as I was before. You know who’s fault that is? The hunters. They knocked some screws loose and they can’t be put back. But here’s the thing; I only go after those who deserve it. So the real question is, what did they do to deserve death?”

“What the hell, Stiles?” Christ whispered.

Suddenly Chris was on the ground and Jackson was standing over him, his kanima scales over half his body. Then he reached down and slit Chris’ throat.

“Jackson?” Stiles asked, but Jackson didn’t react. He just kept staring at Chris as he bled out on the floor, “Babe?” He tried again. Jackson turned to him then, but his eyes were neither his normal blue nor their werewolf blue. Instead they were yellow and the pupils were slits: kanima eyes.

“You lost your identity again!” Stiles gasped. It made sense. Not knowing his true origins was a huge contributing factor to his kanima transformation the first time. Even though he was mostly a werewolf now, he still had some kanima aspects left over. But know that questions about his parentage are emerging again, why wouldn’t the kanima come back.

“Who is your master?” Stiles asked.

Jackson walked up to him and held his hand up to Stiles. Stiles held up his own hand and touched their palms together in a rather tarzan like moment.

“I guess I’m your master now,” Stiles concluded, “Can you please go back to normal you so we can deal with the body?”

Slowly the scales started to recede and the eye went back to their normal blue. He blinked a few times and looked around the room.

“How the hell did I get down here, Stilinski?” His tone was back to angry and belittling, like it was before they got together, but Stiles knew he was only lashing out because he was scared.

“We’ll deal with that later,” Stiles tried, “One problem at a time. The first problem is the body.”

For the first time Jackson looked down and saw Chris.

“What the hell?” Jackson asked, “What did you do?”

“Why does everyone keep asking me that?!” Stiles exclaimed, “Just- ugh- garbage bags cleaning supplies! Let’s go!”

Jackson nodded and started the clean up process on autopilot and Stiles was in a similar headspace. He didn’t know what it said about them that they could clean up a body without thinking about it, but it is what it is. He just hoped they cleaned this up as well as they cleaned up Kira. He didn’t want his dad figuring out about their extracurricular activities.

They got the body in the trunk and the entryway was scrubbed clean of blood. Stiles then led Jackson to the bathroom to clean the blood off his hands.

“Why are my hands bloody?” Jackson asked, “You’re the one who does the killing. I just make sure you don’t get hurt.”

Stiles had had enough panic attacks to know that Jackson was on the verge of one.

“It’s going to be okay, Jackson,” Jackson shook his head in disbelief, “You were protecting me. It’s okay. You were making sure I didn’t get hurt. Chris was too close to the truth. He would have put me down if he figured it out. You were just protecting me.”

With that, Jackson broke down and started crying. Stiles knew it wasn’t just because of the murder. He had needed to get this out since that bitch told him about his father. He was lost and thought he had no way of being found.

“I’ll bury him myself. You need to rest,” Jackson shook his head in protest, “Let me protect you for once.”

Stiles was happy when Jackson conceded. He led him back to the bedroom and tucked him in. He stayed there, running his fingers through Jackson’s hair until he fell asleep. Then he got in the jeep and left for the preserve. He decided he needed an all new burial ground there. Keeping Kira and Chris together would not be a good idea. He ended up at the area that had become a makeshift training ground and started digging.

When he was done, he sat in the jeep and pulled out his phone and sent a text to Danny.

**Stiles:** _ Work fast. The kanima is back. _

He took a deep breath and drove back home, praying to whatever was out there that nothing else would pop up before they figured out whatever the hell was going on with Jackson.


	14. The Father

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter so soon? Yes. Do I know how many more chapters there will be? No. These characters keep adding their own subplots, but I'm enjoying where it's going.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are welcome!

Stiles was panicking. How was he supposed to keep this from the pack? Jackson had been so confident in the wake of Kira. He knew what he was doing and he diverted Scott and the pack perfectly.

Now, however, their roles were reversed. This was too close to the last disappearance of someone close to the pack. At least Chris was pack adjacent instead of pack, but still, someone was bound to notice!

He had taken Chris’ phone and looked through to see who in the pack he communicated with the most. Weirdly enough it turned out to be Derek, so he sent a text to Derek as Chris saying he was following a lead on a rouge omega in Nevada. Hopefully that would be enough.

He turned off the phone so that it couldn’t be traced and headed back home.

The next few weeks were overall uneventful. There were pack meetings and no one was the wiser. Chris’ presence wasn’t even missed or asked about. They were really going to get away with murder again!

He still hadn’t told Jackson about the kanima and he felt guilty about that, but Jackson was already spiraling and he didn’t want to make it worse. One problem at a time, he kept telling himself. 

All in all things seemed good. Then he got a text.

**Danny:** _You and Jackson need to come over. 8:00._

**Stiles:** _ Did you find something? _

**Danny:** _ Just be here at 8. I’ll explain everything. _

Danny being elusive was never a good sign, but if he found something it could help. And he was asking for Jackson, too, so maybe he found the birth father.

“Do you want to go see Danny tonight?” Stiles asked the lump that was lying in their bed.

“Mhmph.” Said the lump.

“Well too bad. We’re going,” Stiles said, “You’ve been moping around for too long. I think hanging out with your best friend will be good for you.”

Stiles pulled the covers off the bed and started pulling Jackson up.

“But we don’t even know what happened to me!” Jackson exclaimed, “What if I lash out and kill Danny!”

“You won’t,” Stiles yelled, “Look, I think Danny has information that can help you. We’ve been talking about it but I didn’t want to get your hopes up. So we are going to see Danny. The only reason you killed Chris was because he was going to hurt me. He was a threat and we both know Danny isn’t a threat.”

Jackson didn’t look happy, but he reluctantly nodded and sat at the end of the bed. Stiles moved to the dresser and pulled out some clothes before tossing them in Jackson’s face.

“Now go shower. You smell like a guy’s locker room.”

Jackson rolled his eyes but took the clothes into the bathroom with him and he heard the shower start. Hopefully Danny had good news and Jackson would finally be out of his funk and go back to being a werewolf. 

It was moments like that which made Stiles want to tell Jackson what was going on. Maybe he could handle it. Maybe knowing the truth would make things better! But he couldn’t risk it, even if it went against every instinct he had.

When they had dinner, the sheriff was surprised that Jackson joined them at the table, but didn’t comment on it. When they were done eating, the sheriff went upstairs to sleep and Stiles and Jackson cleaned up before leaving for Danny’s.

It was a quiet affair. He knew it was because Jackson was nervous for whatever was about to happen, and Stiles was nervous, too, so he didn’t break the silence. When they were done they made the short drive to Danny’s house.

It looked like his family was gone as only Danny’s car was outfront. However, once they were inside it was clear Danny wasn’t alone.

“What is  _ he _ doing here?” Stiles asked, gesturing at Peter who was sitting on the couch.

“I was wondering the same thing myself.” Peter added.

“Can we all just sit down?” Danny asked, “I promise I’ll explain.”

Stiles and Jackson exchanged a look but did sit down on the same couch as Peter, but only because Danny was in the armchair and there wasn’t any other furniture.

“So- to start- I did the digging you asked me to,” Danny gestured to Stiles, “And I got some interesting results. Phone records starting from about a year before Jackson was born until about a month before the accident.”

“What does this have to do with me?” Peter’s question made Stiles roll his eyes, but the man had a point.

“Well considering you were the one talking to Margarate Miller, it has everything to do with you.” Danny stated.

“Wait, did you say Margarate Miller?” Peter asked.

“Wait he was talking to my mom?” Jackson asked at the same time.

Jackson and Peter exchanged a look.

“Well, Jackson’s eyebrows make more sense now.” Stiles shrugged. He didn’t really know what to do in this situation.

“So Peter is my birth father?” Jackson asked dubiously.

“How many unknown kids do I have?” And he had a good point. And Stiles has slept with both of the ones that were now known.

“Well, I’m taking your reaction as you confessing that you did have an affair with her,” Danny stated, “There can’t be any confirmation without a blood test, but it does seem like you’re father and son.”

“So, identifying this,” Stiles started, “Does this solve the other problem?”

“I’m not sure,” Danny confessed, “I wasn’t part of the pack when that was initially happening, so I didn’t see any of the research that was done on the subject. This should at least help, coupled with what you already know about kanimas.”

With that little slip Jackson paled and Peter sat up straighter.

“What’s this about a kanima?” Peter asked, glancing at Jackson.

Danny looked between the three of them before his eyes settled on Stiles, “You didn’t tell Jackson.”

It wasn’t a question and Stiles felt ashamed for not telling Jackson everything he knew.

“I didn’t want to scare him,” He whispered, “It was bad enough the first time around. None of us thought it could happen again. And he was already close to a panic attack all the time and I didn’t want to add to it, so I panicked.”

“Who’s the master?” Peter asked.

“I am.” Stiles confessed.

“How?” How did this happen and how could you not tell me were both implied in that question.

So Stiles explained as well as he could what happened, and then Peter had questions so Stiles had to confess to being a nogitsune. But he knew Peter would be more curious than concerned about that, so it wasn’t a big deal. If anyone could keep a secret, Peter could.

“So, now that I know who I am… am I normal again?” Jackson asked, and Stiles was struck by how small he sounded. Jackson was always one to take up space- to make his presence known. But now he was afraid of himself and it was clear he just wanted to disappear. It broke Stiles’ heart.

“I don’t know,” It was Peter who answered him, “You are the first person I’ve heard of being cured of being a kanima, so there is no precedent to reverting. It could take knowing your identity and a banshee scream like it did before. Maybe your master needs to release you. Maybe you need to die again. None of us have the answer. It’s all trial and error at this point.”

“Well figure this out, Jacks.” Stiles reached over to grab Jackson’s hand, to comfort him, but Jackson pulled his hand away before Stiles could make contact.

“I just need a minute.” Jackson said and then he got up and went upstairs, presumably to Danny’s room.

Stiles sighed. He messed up. He knew he did, but it still hurt to have Jackson react that way towards him.

“How can I earn his trust again?” He asked Danny.

“Just give him time and never omit the truth again.” He answered and Stiles nodded. It sounded so easy, but he knew it wouldn’t be.

Then he looked over at Peter to see the man was already staring at him.

“So you’ve slept with both of my kids?” He said with a raised eyebrow, “I think you have a type.”

Peter leered and Stiles groaned and buried his head in his hands.

“Stop being creepy!” He begged. This was going to be rough.


	15. Anchor

The honeymoon phase was over, if you could even call it that. Did honeymoons always have that much murder and mayhem? With the way Stiles’ life was going he was beginning to think the answer was yes… at least for him.

Jackson deserved better than him. He didn’t used to think that, but now he knew it to be true. Jackson had been a murder puppet once before and now thanks to Stiles he was one again. Even if they returned him to his hybrid state and broke the master bond, as long as he was dating Stiles, protecting him through the chaos, then Jackson would stay a murder puppet.

Stiles knew what he had to do, he just didn’t think he had the guts to do it. Maybe he should just be selfish. He was a nogitsune after all. Weren’t they just supposed to think of themselves and damn the consequences? He and Jackson could just run off right now, permanently bound to one another.

But he did care. At this point he didn’t care about much, but Jackson somehow made it to the top of that list. So he would find a way to get Jackson back to normal and then he would leave. Alone.

One less big bad for Beacon Hills and the McCall pack to deal with. Danny or Peter could come up with an excuse as to why he left. He’d leave a note for his father, of course. Hopefully the pack would take care of him in his absence.

Just then, the door to his bedroom slammed open.

“I can feel you thinking.” Jackson stated in an annoyed monotone.

“I thought you were staying at Danny’s.” Stiles deflected.

Jackson rolled his eyes, “I may be mad at you, but I can’t stay away from you.”

Stiles shrugged and went back to looking out the window. He didn’t want to deal with this right now. The more he was around Jackson, the harder it would be to leave.

“I can feel you thinking,” Jackson reiterated, “Fix it.”

“Well I’m sorry I don’t know how this bond works!” Stiles snapped back. He saw Jackson flinch at his words and immediately regretted his words, “Was it like this… before?” He asked quietly, as if he were scared of the answer.

“I don’t remember before,” Jackson admitted, “But I never felt anything while I was me. And I’m me, now… right?”

“You will always be you as long as I have any say in the matter.” He got up and rushed across the room and wrapped Jackson up in a big hug. He hated seeing Jackson vulnerable. He was supposed to be this strong constant. Nothing was ever supposed to get under his skin.

This was wrong and Stiles was going to fix it and then make sure he could never break it ever again.

Without letting go, he led Jackson to bed and got them under the covers and then he just hugged the other man as he cried himself to sleep. He could feel himself get stronger off the emotional turmoil Jackson was going through and he hated himself for it. He was supposed to hurt those who deserved it. Jackson was just a victim in all of this.

If he could kill Dr. Johnson again for what she did to Jackson, he would. But that train of thought wouldn’t get Jackson back. He needed Jackson back.

Stiles silently scoffed into the nape of Jackson’s neck. Maybe the nogitsune imprinted on Jackson the same way the kanima had imprinted on him. He couldn’t really tell if the feeling of “mine” came from him or the nogitsune. To be honest he didn’t even know if there was a distinction between the two and that scared him even more.

Thankfully he fell asleep before he could delve too deeply into that train of thought.

The next morning had both Lydia and Peter in his living room. The sheriff gave Peter the side eye before leaving for the station. He knew there would be some explaining to do, so he’d have to come up with an excuse, but one problem at a time.

Stiles snorted. These days it seemed like that was his new mantra. Lydia gave him an odd look due to the snort, but Stiles just shook his head. It wasn’t important. Jackson was.

“This is far too public a place for a scream.” Peter said to break the silence.

“Then why did you come here?” Stiles asked. He would have been fine with Lydia, but he did not like Creeperwolf in his space.

“I’m the anchor,” Peter supplied, “Last time it was Lydia’s key. This time it’s his father.”

“I still don’t think you’re the anchor.” Lydia contributed, “But you’re right. We need a more remote place.”

“I know a place,” Jackson suggested, “It’s deep in the preserve. No one should be able to hear us.”

Stiles started nodding, knowing their clearing would be remote enough, and then he abruptly stopped.

“We can’t go to that clearing.” Stiles said. Jackson gave him a confused look, Lydia was smirking, and Peter, that bastard, looked more calculating, “I just don’t think that clearing would be good for Peter’s werewolf sensitivities.”

And that was enough of the truth that his heart didn’t stutter at all. The only thing was Peter and Lydia were probably thinking the clearing smelled like sex and not like the rotting corpse of a certain pack-friendly hunter.

He could see the moment it clicked for Jackson. When he realized Stiles’ had used their place as a dumping ground.

“Could we use the warehouse I was cured in the first time?” Jackson asked.

“No,” Peter answered, “That might get some supernatural wires crossed. I think this place in the preserve sounds lovely.”

“Do you really want to smell their sex everywhere?” Lydia asked.

“It’s not like I can’t smell it here,” Peter said, “I just ignore it like a civilized werewolf. And seriously, the kitchen table? You should clean up more thoroughly if you are going to do that.”

He gave them a wink before sauntering out the back door, “What direction to your happy clearing? Oh, nevermind. I’ll just follow your scents.”

And with that he disappeared into the preserve and the other three were left to follow after him. When they arrived, he could tell Peter figured it out, but was choosing not to say anything.

“It feels like death here.” Lydia commented.

Damn it! He had been so focused on Peter’s sense of smell he had completely forgotten about the banshee! Peter had to have thought about this. He wanted Lydia to put the pieces together. Why did he want Stiles and Jackson to get caught? Did he not care about his son at all?

“Forget about death, and scream!”

After two hours, no progress had been made and Lydia’s vocal chords were probably raw.

“I don’t think you’re the anchor.” Stiles had to Peter for probably the millionth time.

“Then what could it be?” Peter screamed.

“It’s Stiles,” Lydia whispered, “Stiles is his anchor.”

“But I’m his master,” He felt like he was pointing out the obvious, “How can I be the master and the anchor? Isn’t that an oxymoron?”

“Not necessarily,” Lydia said, “You were with him when he changed for the first time and Jackson trusts you. You aren’t the master because of a murder vendetta, but because Jackson trusts you to take care of him when he’s not in control. Let’s try this again.”

And so they did, but this time Jackson was focusing on Stiles. While Lydia was screaming behind Stiles, all he could think of was “Please work.” This was their last chance. He didn’t know what he would do if this didn’t work.

However, Stiles saw Jackson’s eyes flash yellow, but then they started flickering. By the time Lydia’s scream died out, Jackson’s eyes were pure werewolf blue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I broke my own heart when I wrote the beginning of this chapter. That had not been the plan at all. Don't worry, these boys will end up together, but the angst is strong.
> 
> As always I love your comments and kudos! Let me here from you! What do you like best about the story? What would you like to see our boys face next?


	16. Gone

Jackson was out with Peter and Malia. Something about family bonding which had to be the most uncomfortable thing for all parties involved. None of them really seemed to be the family type… or the bonding type...

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he took one last look around his bedroom to see if there was anything he forgot before zipping up his suitcase. He thought about leaving a note, but wasn’t sure if that would make the pack come after him, or if no note would do that more. He decided to leave one.

He left it on the nightstand and then loaded up the jeep. He started driving. He didn’t care where, he just knew he had to leave before someone stopped him because if Jackson tried-

No, he couldn’t think about that. He just had to go. It was what was best for everybody.

  
  
  


Jackson got home and the first thing he noticed was quiet. The jeep wasn’t in the driveway and there were no heartbeats in the house. His first thought was that Stiles must be running errands or maybe he was with the pack.

Since the whole kanima 2.0 debacle they hadn’t been attached at the hip like they were before, so it wasn’t that concerning that he wasn’t there. 

His thoughts were mostly consumed with the weird day he had. He and Malia had never really gotten along since he returned from London and he had never had a desire to remedy that. He didn’t really have much of an opinion on Peter. The man had great taste and style, but they had never really interacted that much. 

The forced family time mostly consisted of them sitting in a restaurant and silently looking at each other with their resting bitch faces. Now that he knew it was there, he had to admit the family resemblance was definitely there.

The concerning thing was the note that was in the center of their bed. It’s placement was meant to get his attention and that worried him. What could Stiles have to say that he couldn’t text or call Jackson about?

_ Jackson, _

_ I don’t want to hurt you again. Don’t come looking for me, this is for the best. _

_ I will always love you, _

_ Stiles _

What the hell did this mean? Jackson wrenched open the closet door and found all of Stiles’ clothes gone. He ran to the bookshelf and all his books on folklore and magic were missing as well as the picture of Stiles as a kid with the sheriff and Claudia before she had passed.

After everything they had been through, this was all he got? Stiles was gone and all he had left was this stupid note? And he expected Jackson or the sheriff not to do anything?

Jackson took the note and ran out to his car. He was speeding, but he didn’t care. He was headed to the station anyway so if they wanted to stop him, they could deal with it there.

When he got there he parked haphazardly in the visitor’s lot and ran inside. The deputy at the front desk tried to stop him, but he shoved past her.

“I need to talk to the sheriff!” He shouted.

Thankfully Parish was working that day and saw the commotion.

“It’s ok. I’ll help him,” Jordan took Jackson by the arm and led him back to his desk, “What the hell are you doing? Your eyes won’t stop flashing! It’s a good thing you already have blue eyes. I think most of them will brush it off as a trick of the light. And the use of werewolf strength? Not cool!” Jordan was whispering to try and avoid being overheard, but Jackson couldn’t be concerned about revealing himself. Stiles was gone. His anchor was gone.

“It’s Stiles. I need to talk to the sheriff.” Jordan looked at him intently and must have seen whatever he was looking for because he nodded and then led him to Noah’s office.

“Jordan? What brings you here?” Noah asked when he saw the deputy.

“Whittemore’s here. Says he needs to talk to you about Stiles. It seems urgent.” Jordan responded.

“Send him in.”

Once Jackson was given the okay, he shoved his way into the room and slammed the note onto the desk.

“He’s gone.” Jackson choked out.

Noah’s eyebrows pinched and he looked down at the note.

“He just left?” The sheriff asked.

“I came home and he was gone, his clothes are gone, his books are gone. The picture on the bedside table is gone.” Jackson explained.

“Why would he leave?” Noah asked no one in particular, “And where were you? You haven’t left his side since you… you know.”

“Stiles helped me find my birth father. I was spending time with him and my half-sister today. When I came back he was gone.”

“That’s a lot of information to digest. Did he take the jeep?”

“You know he wouldn’t leave it behind.”

Noah nodded, “Then I can put an A.P.B. out for him and the jeep. We’ll find him. But my original question still stands. Why would he leave?”

Jackson sunk into a chair across from the sheriff, “I don’t know. He said he didn’t want to hurt me again, but I don’t remember the first time. He’s never hurt me- oh.” Then it clicked.

“What?” Noah asked, “What happened?”

“Nothing happened, but I know what Stiles is thinking. He doesn’t want it to happen again. Any of it.”

“What does that mean?”

“Keep me updated on the A.P.B. I’m going to find him and I’m going to bring him back.”

Jackson was determined and he left before the sheriff could ask anymore questions. It wasn’t his story to tell. He’d have to bring Stiles back so he can explain it himself.

Stiles was using the kanima as an excuse, but that wasn’t what he was really afraid of. Jackson may not have been around the first time, but he heard enough of the stories to know why Stiles would be afraid, especially if it was really him this time.

When Jackson got to his car he closed his eyes and took a deep breath to clear his mind. Then he pulled out and started driving in the direction that felt the most natural. He was going to find Stiles no matter what.


	17. Found

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally got my story back on track! Lol. I love the tangents this story went on, but I wasn't sure if the characters were going to let me get the ending I wanted and it looks like they will! One more chapter left! This story has become my longest work to date and I am so proud of it!
> 
> Comments and kudos are appreciated!

The jeep turned up by the end of the day, but Stiles had already ditched it. That had shocked Jackson. The jeep had been Stiles’ mother’s. His last connection to her, and he left it behind in an attempt to get away from Jackson.

He knew Stiles would regret that decision once he came back to himself, so he ditched the Porsche so he could follow Stiles in the jeep. He called the sheriff to update him on that decision so he wouldn’t get stopped in his search.

Eventually the trail ran cold. He entered a random town a three days drive from Beacon Hills. The tug on his heart had settled, so he knew he was in the right place, but he didn’t know where Stiles was.

He got a room at a motel on the edge of town and decided to settle in for the night. The next day he would start scouring the town for him.

He settled onto the bed and turned the news on while he scrolled through his phone. He just needed noise in the background while he answered questions from the pack.

“Reports are coming in about a fire at the local hospital,” the anchor said, “Sources say the doors have been barricaded from the inside. Police and Firefighters are searching for a way inside.”

That had Jackson’s full attention. Stiles was in town. He already knew that, but now he had a location. Either Stiles was causing this, or he was there, feeding off of the chaos. Either way it had Jackson running out as fast as he could.

He looked up the hospital on Google maps and peeled out of the parking lot in that direction. He had to park a few blocks away because of the barricades. There was already a crowd gathering and he could see the news crew on sight. He made a quick jog around the perimeter, but Stiles wasn’t there.

He had to get inside.

He saw the emergency personnel using a battering ram on the front door. He examined the building and saw an open window on one of the top floors. He knew he would be able to get up there and get in, but with the crowd watching, he wasn’t sure he sould.

Suddenly his heart started to ache. The pain quickly became more intense. Something was happening to Stiles! Damn the consequences! He was going to get in that hospital, the fate of the supernatural be damned!

Thankfully the news crew wasn’t on this side of the building. He ducked under the police tape and climbed up the building as fast as he could. It was hard with how much his chest was hurting, but he knew he needed to do it.

When he got in, the ache changed to the same pull he felt on the road. He followed it through the hallways. Thankfully the fire hadn’t made it up here yet, but the heat from the lower levels made it hard to breath. It probably wouldn’t be long before the whole place caved in.

There were screams and cries from hospital residents and staff, but that fell of deaf ears. The only sense Jackson was listening to was the tug. It brought him to the stairwell, but the doorknob was hot to the touch.

He decided to fuck fire safety rules and bust down the door. He was a werewolf after all, he would heal.

The stairwell was burning, but he knew he had to go down. The flames licked at his feet, but he kept going. Two floors down he knocked down the door to that floor. The fire was larger on that floor than it had been in the stairwell. 

He ran through the flames, following that tug until it brought him to a supply closet. Stiles was in there. He tried to bust down the door, but this one wouldn’t budge. Even with his werewolf strength the door wasn’t giving an inch. Stiles must have done the same thing to barricade himself in that room as he did to block the entrances.

“Stiles!” Jackson yelled, “Stiles I know you’re in there. This place is coming down any second and I’m not leaving without you.”

He heard movement on the other end, but couldn’t tell what was going on. Then the door slowly opened.

“What the hell, Jacks?” Stiles asked.

Jackson breathed a sigh of relief. Stiles. He was here. He was safe.

“Let’s get out of here. I can explain at the motel.”

Stiles gave him a stern look, but then rolled his eyes. The next thing he knew Stiles was grabbing his arm and then in a whoosh they were outside.

“Did you just teleport us?” Jackson asked.

“No, I ran,” Stiles rolled his eyes again, “Why are you here?”

“I came to find you. To bring you back!” Jackson explained.

“I’m not going back and I told you not to follow me.” His voice was doing that thing where the voluming wasn’t making him yell, but his tone was certainly conveying it.

“I love you, Stiles,” Jackson confessed, “I will always find you. I think you’re my mate and that bond can’t be broken like the master bond can.”

“You love me?” Stiles asked. He glanced back at the hospital, “You still love me when I do shit like this?”

“Yes, I still love you. I understand your needs. I know why you did this and I can help you channel it. I know the guilt you feel over it. I know you held out as long as you could on your own. It’s been far too long since Chris and you needed to do something. I still love you.”

“You said mate.”

“From what I hear wolves only get one.”

Stiles nodded, “I’m not ready to go home, but can you take me to that morel you were talking about?”

Jackson smiled and led him to the jeep. Stiles’ eyes got wide at the sight of her.

“You kept Roscoe?” Stiles gasped.

“Yeah. Left behind my porsche to do it.” Jackson smiled.

“You did not.”

“Still doubting my love for you?” Jackson questioned as he climbed into the driver’s seat.

Stiles scrambled into the passenger's seat without a word. The drive to the motel was short and he could see Stiles relax as soon as the door to their room was closed.

Jackson started to strip out of his soot covered clothes and headed toward the bathroom to start the shower.

“You can join me if you want.” Jackson called behind him.

He wasn’t sure what Stiles would choose to do, but sure enough he ended up with an over energized, horned up Stiles in the shower with him. He had always thought reunion sex was great, but this blew his past experiences out of the water.

He had to attribute it to the mate bond. Sex had always been good, but sex with Stiles was always mind blowingly fantastic. He had missed this so much.

Later, when they were in bed, basking in the afterglow, Stiles said, “If we go back, there are some things I would have to take care of. I’m not sure if you’d be on board with it.”

“Well, tell me what you need to do,” Jackson reasoned, “Then we can decide if we should go back or just hit the road.”

And so Stiles launched into a long explanation of what had happened in high school and what Stiles wanted to do about it now that he finally could.


	18. The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it! This is the end! I'm so excited to be sharing one of the few pieces of this fic that was actually planned ahead.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are much appreciated and thank you for joining me on this wild ride!

Their first stop in town was at the nursing home where they broke into the medicine cabinet and drugged Elias Stilinski in his sleep. That was for what he did to Stiles’ grandmother and father.

The next stop was the animal clinic. Jackson and Stiles started loading Deaton’s books and herbs into the back of the jeep. Eventually the druid arrived and asked what they were doing.

“You have so much information,” Stiles stated, “You know so much and yet you let us figure things out on our own. So many lives could have been saved if you had just been upfront and honest about what you knew.”

Jackson swiped his claws across Deaton’s neck.

“The information is ours, now, and you can’t hurt us anymore.” Stiles took out his knife/tail and plunged it into the druid’s chest before twisting it and leaving the man to bleed out.

They finished loading up the jeep and went home to settle in.

Home was no longer the Stilinski residence. Stiles and Jackson decided it was time they got their own place. Jackson certainly had the money for it. It was a modest one bedroom with a study, but it suited their needs just fine.

They arranged the liberated books and supplies into the study and began to plan their next move.

Stiles wished Gerard hadn’t already been killed. He would have relished giving the man the same wounds Gerard had inflicted on him back in highschool, but at least he ensured the man’s bloodline had died out.

While Stiles and Jackson planned, they played along with the pack as if nothing was wrong. Thanks to Stiles’ spark that Deaton had failed to tell him complete information on, he was able to mask their scents at the scene of the crime, so they “helped” the pack find Deaton’s killer.

And that “killer” turned out to be Theo. They found some of Deaton’s books in Theo’s truck. He adamantly denied it and claimed he didn’t even know how they got there. But Scott still banished him from the pack and the territory and it was the perfect time to strike.

Jackson and Stiles followed him out of town and drugged his drink at a bar he stopped at. They brought him back to Beacon Hills. Back to the tunnels where he helped the Dread Doctors ruin so many people’s lives.

When he came to, he was tied down on the surgical table and unable to move.

“These all seem like fun tools,” Stiles commented, “It’s a wonder Scott and the pack didn’t clean all of this up. Just about anyone could come down here and create such a mess.”

He grabbed one of the scalpels and started making a cut down Theo’s chest. He played around with the Dread Doctors’ tools for a bit, but he quickly grew bored.

“No, I know what I’m going to do,” Stiles walked around the room looking for something. In one corner he found a disregarded piece of pipe. He came back to Theo and shoved it in his shoulder. Then he looked around and found a second one and shoved it in his leg.

“There, now you’re just like how I left Donovan,” Stiles scoffed, “Well, a little bloodier. Now, what was it you did to him?” Stiles smirked as he pulled out the exact same wrench that Theo had used to kill Donovan, “Oh yeah, this.”

When Stiles emerged from the tunnels, Jackson was waiting for him at the entrance. He had been on guard duty while Stiles did his thing.

He gave Jackson a big smile and a bloody kiss. He ran them back home so they could clean up and make use of all the energy Stiles had.

Now they had to bide their time for the final phase of their plan.

While they waited, he couldn’t help but feel like he was being watched. He knew who it was, he just didn’t know what to do about it.

One day, when Stiles and Jackson were having dinner he asked, “How close have you and Peter gotten?”

Jackson pulled his eyebrows together both in confusion and in thought, “Not very. Neither of us are the bonding type and he’s… well he’s Peter.”

“I think he knows,” Stiles said, “He for sure knows about Chris and I think he might know about the others and me.”

Jackson nodded, “So what are we going to do about it?”

“He’s your father. That choice is yours to make.”

They decided to play it subtle. If they went all in, he might escape and he would definitely know what was going on. So instead, Jackson went over to Peter’s apartment one day to confront him.

“You’re making Stiles uncomfortable,” Jackson growled as the older man let him in, “Stop it.”

“Well I can hardly stop if I don’t know I’m doing it.” Peter replied.

“Why do you keep staring at him?” Jackson asked.

“Well, I want to know what he is,” Peter replied, “Or what has him so ready to murder those in the pack.”

Jackson just glared.

“Oh, I don’t want to stop you two,” Peter continued, “If anything I want to help. Your clean up methods are clumsy at best. I was the Hale pack’s left hand and I would love to teach my son everything that I know. This is the kind of father-son bonding I can get behind.”

Jackson considered this. He knew Peter was playing an angle, he always was, but in this instance it seemed like it would help and not harm. And if things went awry, then Peter would be lulled into a false sense of security.

“Okay, teach me how to dispose of a body.” Peter’s smile was never brighter.

Peter being on their side changed the plans a bit. They decided not only to get their revenge, but to build their own pack. Peter and Danny were already a part of it, and where Danny went, Ethan followed. Malia would probably join because of her father and brother, but Stiles wasn’t too happy about that. They hadn’t really been close since she randomly dumped him senior year.

Don’t get him wrong, he was happy with how things turned out, but that was a bitch move on her part. Especially the ghosting afterwards. It wasn’t enough to put her on his hit list, but he still wasn’t happy.

The rest of the pack was a toss up, so he’d have to wait and see what happened after they made their final move. The time was drawing near and Stiles was buzzing with excitement.

He texted Scott to meet him at the pool in the high school asap. He also sent the same text to Derek. Jackson and Stiles were already hiding out, ready to strike. 

When the two wolves got there, the couple made their move. Stiles injected Scott with a special strain of wolfsbane and Jackson injected Derek with his kanima venom and dumped him in the pool.

“Better act fast, Scotty.” Stiles said with a smile.

Scott gave him a confused look and then jumped in the pool after Derek. Once the two broke the surface, Stiles started his monologue. 

“Does this seem familiar to you Scotty?” Stiles scoffed, “Of course it doesn’t because you weren’t here. I was in the same place as you are now, trying to keep Derek afloat. I even tried to call you to come save us, but Allison’s pussy was more important. I don’t even think you got any that night.

“No, you couldn’t take the time to even listen to what I had to say. We were  _ dying _ , Scott. So now you have a choice. That wolfsbane in your system prevents you from using your werewolf abilities and will slowly kill you. The kanima venom will wear off before that happens, so Derek will be fine, but you will die. Or, you could drop Derek to the bottom of the pool and burn some of this wolfsbane in the injection sight. You will live, but Derek will die. Keep in mind, I’ll make sure the whole pack knows you’re choice.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Scott shouted.

“I’m surprised you didn’t notice,” Stiles smirked, “Kira figured it out right away. That’s why she had to go. Chris, too.”

“The nogitsune,” Scott gasped, “But how?”

“Oh, he’s not back. I am a nogitsune.” He couldn’t help the rush he felt with Scott trying to figure it out while trying to stay afloat with Derek. This revenge was sweeter than he could have ever imagined.

“You were always slow, Scotty,” Stiles commented, “But I never thought you were this dense.”

Just then, Scott dropped Derek and was climbing out of the pool. Jackson dove in after Derek and Stiles had Scott pinned to the wall.

“You didn’t actually think I’d let that happen, did you?” Stiles asked, “Derek has been a truer friend to me than you ever were. This just proved the kind of person you are. Now I have no choice, you have to go.”

Stiles pulled out the wrench, the same one he killed Theo with, the same one that had Scott trusting Theo over Stiles. He had covered it in wolfsbane just for this occasion.

“I think it’s time for some more poetic justice.”

When that was done, they cleaned up and sat down with a very dumbstruck Derek.

“I’m sorry I had to put you through that again.” Stiles apologized, “I needed Scott to see that what he did was wrong, but like always, he couldn’t admit that. You got caught in the crossfire. It was necessary, but I still regret it.”

“You’re a nogitsune.” Was all Derek said in response.

“Yes, but I only go after the bad guys!” He did jazz hands as a sort of “ta-da” but Derek wasn’t having it.

“I’m his anchor,” Jackson explained, “As long as I’m around no innocents get hurt. I approve all targets and plans.”

Derek looked back and forth between the two, “This is ridiculous.”

“Not really,” Stiles shrugged, “I killed Scott and it was a long time coming. The pack needs a new alpha. I took the spark, but it doesn’t belong to me. Would you like to be the alpha?”

Derek looked at him as if he had gone crazy, “Yeah, like that worked out so well the first time.”

“You’ve grown since then,” Stiles insisted, “You’ve acted more like the alpha than Scott has in years. You made alliances with Chris and Satomi. You kept us updated on any goings on in the area. You have been the alpha for a while, now it’s time to officially take up the mantle.”

Derek looked like he wanted to argue, but instead he settled on saying, “Why aren’t you keeping it?”

“Because it doesn’t belong to me. I’m already going through enough changes and power shifts. Adding more to it might make me more dangerous. I want to make sure Jackson can still reel me in.”

Derek thought about it for a moment and then nodded. Stiles reached out and put his hand on Derek’s chest. He had read about the transfer of alpha power in Deaton’s books. There had been so much that man had been hiding from them.

The ritual was quick and painless and the next thing they knew, Derek was looking at them with red eyes.

“Let’s go tell the pack, then.” Derek growled.

As he left, Stiles and Jackson exchanged a look. Life wasn’t going to be easy, but at least they had each other and a group of blind followers to support them.


End file.
